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TEST  TARGET  (MT-3} 


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Photogra{diic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


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23  WfST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  UStO 

(716)t72-4S03 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Imititute  for  Historical  IVIicroreproductions  /  institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquaa 


Tha 
totr 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  Im  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  changa 
tha  usual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


D 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Colourad  covars/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


I      I   Covars  damagad/ 


Couvartura  andommagia 


Covars  rastorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  rastaurte  at/ou  pallicul6a 


I      I    Covar  titia  missing/ 


La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 

Colourad  maps/ 

Cartas  g^ographiquas  an  coulaur 


□   Colourad  ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  bifick)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 

r~|   Colourad  platas  and/or  iiluatrations/ 


D 


Planchas  at/ou  illustrations  an  coulaur 


Bound  with  othar  material/ 
RaliA  avac  d'autras  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serr6e  peut  cauaar  da  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
diatortion  la  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  tha  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^as 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dana  la  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pagea  n'ont 
pas  Ati  f  ilmtes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppltmantairas; 


L'Inatitut  a  microfilm*  la  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  AtA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
da  cet  exemplaire  qui  sent  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  m^thoda  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


I     I   Coloured  pagea/ 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagias 

Pagea  reatorad  and/oi 

Pages  restaurAea  at/ou  pellicultes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxe« 
Pages  dAcoiortes,  tachet6es  ou  piqutes 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachtes 

Showthrough/ 
Tranaparance 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualiti  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materif 
Comprend  du  material  aupplAmantaira 


I — I   Pages  damaged/ 

I — I   Pagea  reatorad  and/or  laminated/ 

I      I/Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

□    Pages  detached/ 
r 

I     l^howthrough/ 
Lid^Ti 

I     I    Quality  of  print  varies/ 

[~~|    Includes  supplementary  material/ 


Tha 
post 
of  tf 
film! 


Grig 
bagi 
the  I 
sion, 
othe 
first 
sion, 
or  ill 


The 
shall 
TINL 
whic 

Mapi 
diffe 
entir 
begii 
right 
requ 
metf 


I — I    Only  edition  available/ 


Seule  Mition  diaponibia 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pagea  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  fauiilet  d'errata,  une  pelure. 
etc..  ont  4tA  filmtes  k  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  eat  f  llmA  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-deaaoua. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


/ 

12X 


16X 


aox 


24X 


28X 


32X 


ire 

details 
les  du 
modifier 
ler  une 
filmage 


6es 


The  copy  filmed  here  hae  been  reproduced  thanke 
to  the  generoaity  of: 

La  BibliothAqu*  da  la  Villa  da  MontrM 


The  imagea  appearing  here  are  the  beat  quality 
poaaible  conaidering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  apecif icationa. 


Original  copiea  in  printed  paper  covera  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  laat  page  with  a  printed  or  iiiuatrated  imprea- 
sion,  or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copiea  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
firat  page  with  a  printed  or  iiiuatrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  iiiuatrated  impression. 


The  laat  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — »•  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


L'exemplaire  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnAroaitA  da: 

La  BiMiothiqua  da  la  Villa  da  MontrM 


Lea  imagea  suivantea  ont  At*  reproduites  avec  le 
piua  grand  aoin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettet*  de  l'exemplaire  film*,  at  en 
conformity  avec  lea  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Lea  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  eat  imprimte  aont  film6s  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  aoit  par  la 
derniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreaaion  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autrea  exempiairea 
originaux  aont  filmte  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreaaion  ou  d'illustration  at  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
caa:  le  symbols  — »•  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


re 


IVIaps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  framea  as 
required.  The  following  diagrama  iiiuatrate  the 
method: 


Lea  cartea,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
film*s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich*.  il  est  film*  *  partir 
de  Tangle  aupArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nomb/e 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammef .  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


i  errata 
id  to 

fit 

ie  pelure, 

pon  A 


n 


1 

2 

3 

32X 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

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"V-i*, 


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Mil 


H. 


TUB 


HISTORY  AND  GEOGRAPHY 


OP  TIIIJ 


VALLEY. 


i 


*     4 


TO    AVHICII   IS    ATPENDED 

A  CONDENSED  PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY 

OP   THE 

ATLANTIC  UIVITED  STATEIS, 

AND  THE   WHOLE 

AMERICAN  CONTINENT. 


s. 


-4 


Second  Edition. 


By  .l^iao^li^  #lfiit^ 

AUTnOB  or  'jJIECPLLERTiONS  ot"  THe'l/{87  rt>l  Y-EAAS  IN  THE 
,    '•  .-•    *••  *MISSISSifM  ♦VALLEY."  ••'/.    ' 

'   *  •*  r  •  • 

•  ;., — »_-» —  . 


•     •    •  ' 


*    • 


'sAlve  magna  parens* 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES. 


VOL.  I. 


E    H.  FLINT  AND  L.  R.  LINCOLN. 


1832. 


ilik 


c- 


s  tt 


.Mi 


«# 


■5 


,.. :^<i 


Entered   acToi'diii)!  to  Act  of  f'ui))>rc!<s  in  the  year  eighteen  liundred  and  (liirtjr.onCi  hy 
Timothy  {'lint,  in  llic  Clerk's  office  of  tlic  District  Court  of  Ohio, 


\  W''  •*'  '  \, 


.'    .*'. 


•      •  •        * 


CINCINNATI. 
Prcu  of  L.  R.  Lincoln. 


. :  :   :  i : : 


n 


h 


^ 


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186999 


TO 


Joseph  Peaboily,  Esq. 


8ALEM,  MASSACHUSETTS. 


Sir, 

I  have  ventured  to  inscribe  this  book  with  your 
name,  for  the  following  reasons.  I  wished  to  prove,  that 
much  as  I  have  wandered,  my  heart  and  my  affections 
have  still  had  their  stationary  points.  It  is  my  pride 
to  hope,  amidst  all  the  vicissitudes,  through  which  I  have 
passed,  that  the  friends  of  my  youth  will  be  those  of  my 
age.  Years  in  their  flight  will  never  shed  the  mildew  of 
oblivion  over  kindnesses,  which  have  marked  every 
period  of  my  intercourse  with  you.  Those  kindnesses  are 
alike  associated  with  the  remembrance  of  scenes  that 
have  passed  in  the  land  of  my  birth,  and  in  distant  regions 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  To  you  and  one  other  friend  it 
is  owing,  that  I  ever  appeared  before  the  public.  I  know 
not,  if  the  public  will  thank  you,  or  if  it  ought.  I  feel, 
that  I,  at  least,  ought  never  to  forget  the  kindness  and 
munificence  of  the  motive.  While  your  keels  plough 
every  sea,  bringing  home  the  rich  harvests  of  commerce, 
I  have  always  known  you  the  earnest  and  consistent  friend 
of  the  sacred  soil  and  the  plough.  This  acquaintance 
with  predilections,  apparently  so  foreign  from  those,  which 
have  governed  your  pursuits  in  life,  has  added  an  induce- 
ment to  inscribe  to  you  a  book,  which,  while  it  presents  a 


^r 


.%»*'•■ 


^ 


i 


> 


IT 


DEDICATION. 


brief  sketch  of  all  the  great  interests  of  our  country, 
dwells  with  most  detail  upon  the  fertility  of  the  American 
soil,  and  the  un(':oui1tcd  millions  of  acres  of  its  untilled  and 
teeming  wilderness,  yet  to  be  occupied  by  independent 
and  happy  yeomen. 

'Fortunate  as  has  been  the  general  course  of  your 
career, since  my  first  work  was  inscribed  with  your  name, 
you  have  experienced  a  loss  as  severe,  as  can  try  the 
human  heart,  and  have  sustained  it  with  a  firmness  of 
Christian  pliiloso|)hy,  which  [)roved  that  in  the  midst  of 
prosperity  you  had  not  forgotten  on  what  tenure  we  hold 
all  the  blessinfijs  of  this  mutable  existence. 
-  3Iay  you  continue  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  doing  good, 
in  the  tranquil  repose  of  resignation  in  the  midst  of  the 
children,  that  remain  to  you,  rendering  your  age  as  happy, 
as  your  past  life  has  been  honorable  and  useful. 

With  feelings  of  indelible  gratitude  and  respect, 
I  subscribe  myself  your  friend  and  humble  servant, 

Timothy  Flint. 


(  _J^ 


"»tlf 


Mt'i     -mil  •' 


1^1 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


V 


Introduction.  General  features  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  17.  Faco 
of  the  country,  18.  Minerals,  29.  Climate,  31.  Diseases,  S5.  Trees 
and  shrubs,  40.  Vines  and  creepers,  50.  Shrubs,  53.  Herbs,  grasses 
and  flowering  plants,  54.  Medicinal  plants, 57.  Animals,  CI.  Birds, 
69.  Reptiles  74.  Fishes,  79.  Rivers,  80.  Indians,  or  Aboriginal 
inhabitants,  103.  Monuments,  120.  Present  population,  130.  Na- 
tional character  of  the  western  people,  135.  Religious  character  of  the 
western  people,  141.    Pursuits  of  the  people,  147. 

Civil  History,  159.  Settlement  vf"  Canada,  Florida  and  Louisiana,  160. 
Character  of  the  colonists,  101.  Settle  nents  on  the'Ohio  and  Monongahela, 
162.  Settlement  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  163.  Defeat  of  the  Ken- 
tuckiansat  the  Blue  Licks,  164.  Settlement  of  Ohio,  165.  Invasion  of 
Pensacola,  167.  Massacre  of  the  French  at  Natchez,  167.  Braddock^s 
defeat,  168.  Victory  of  Wolfe,  capture  of  Fort  Loudon,  and  close  of 
the  war,  168.  War  of  the  American  revolution,  169.  Peace,  170, 
Spanish  treaty,  171.  Indian  war,  and  peace,  171,  Western  insurrec- 
tion, 172.  Cession  of  Louisiana,  172.  Burros  expedition,  173.  First 
steamboat  on  the  western  waters,  173.  Renewal  of  the  Indian  war,  173, 
Surrender  of  Detroit  and  Indian  war  in  the  south,  174 .  Massacre  of  the 
Raisin,  siege  of  Fort  Meigs,  defence  of  Fort  Stephenson,  victory  of 
Perry,  and  defeat  of  General  Proctor,  175.  Death  of  Tccumseh,  and  in- 
vasion  of  Louisiana  by  the  British,  176.  Battle  of  the  eighth  of  January, 
177.  Peace,  178.  State  of  the  country,  178.  Failure  of  banks,  179. 
Relief  laws,  180.  EstablishmRnt  of  a  sound  currency,  181.  Immigra* 
lion,  182, 


»     <- 


CONTENTS. 


Florida,  105.  Climate  105.  Production;;,  10<{.  Minerals,  100. 
Animals,  100.  Bird^  and  fish,  t2t)0.^  Scr|)cnt9,  !2U1.  Insects,  Baysi 
Inlets  and  Sonndfl  202.  River,  203.  Islands,  Curiosities,  Fountains, 
Lakes,  and  Spriiv'.  '^04.  SavnjTcs,  Civil  Divisions,  and  population, 
206.  Oomparativo  atlv.inta^rs  of  irnnii<rration  to  Florida,  and  chief 
towns,  807.     History,  211.     Acres  ufmui-kctahle  land,  212. 


Alibama,  Civil  divisions,  and   popiiliition,  213.    Rivers  211.      Faco 
of  the  country,  soil,  &:c.  21.'>.    Character  of  the  population,  217.     Semi- 
naries, Climate,  and  Diseases,  21N.  Employment  of  the  people,  and  chief 
J  'towns,  210.     County  towns,  and  Constitution  and  laws,  222. 

Mississippi,  Names  of  Counties,  Population,  and  Faco  of  the  country, 
223.    Rivers,  224.    Islands,  Climiite,  22a.      Indians,  228.     AgricuU 
.     ture  and  pursuits  of  the  people,  220.    Attention  to  schools,  Constitu** ' 
tion.  Chief  towns,  230,  History,  232. 

Louisiana.  Parishes.  Population  hy  the  census  of  1830, 233.  Face 
of  the  country,  soil,  &c.  231.  Affiicultiire  and  productions,  238,  Slaves, 
243.  Rivers  and  lakes,  245.  Islands,  253.  Bays,  Prairies,  254.  New 
Parishes,  Fortifications,  257.  C'liicf  towns,  '258.  Roads  and  Canals, 
268.     Constitution  and  laws,  2(59.     Ciiaracter,  270.     Religion,  272. 

Arkansas  Territory,  Civil  divisions  and  population,  274.  Face  of  the 
country,  274.  Rivers,  275.  Soil  and  productions,  270.  Climate  and 
salubrity,  281.  Settlements,  281.  Chief  towns,  282.  Indians,  283 
History  283. 

Missouri,  Civil  divisions,  and  population,  28iJ      Face  of  the  country. 

Soil,  286.  Productions,  298.  Animals,  291 .     Agriculture,  202.  Houses, 

'^'■'   &c.  Climate,  293.     Salubrity  of  the  country,  295.      Scenery,  Roads, 

&c,  296.      Minerals,  Fossils,  «fec.    297.     Ri^rs,  300.     Game,  &c. 

Chief  towns,  305.     Constitution,  Laws,  tScc.  Manners,  &.c.  310.     His- 

%    toiy,  312. 


«* 


Illinois,  Civil  divisions  and  population,  316.  Face  of  the  country, 
318.  Rivers,  322.  Minerals,  325.  Agriculture  and  Manufactures, 
Chief  towns,  326.  Diseases,  &c.  328.  Roads,  Public  improvements, 
Seminaries,  »fec.  328.  Constitution  and  Laws,  History,  329.  Curiosi- 
ties, 331. 


'If llfciLjfai"*r^ ^  >^- ..  ,|j,^^-..  ..      ■   ■-  .4.„.^t.      .ah.m.',  .■%   .     ILfc*.. m,ti  „ 


fci'mr    II  •m\M»0^'* 


COMTNTS, 


vu 


Tennessee,  Oivil  diviuionH,  l'u{)ulatiun,  !}3:i.  I'uco  uf  Uie  coantry, 
.'{:{5.  Kartlis,  Fussily,  uiiil  salts,  WSo.  Climate  and  Productions,  336, 
tiivers,  337.  Agrictilturi>,  produce,  and  inumiractiircs,  chief  towns, 
338.  Natural  curiosities,  310.  Constitution,  Schools,  343,  History, 
343. 


Kentucky,  Civil  Divisions,  343.  Po!)ulation,  310.  Face  of  the 
country,  346.  Rivers,  34S.  Minerals  and  mineral  waters,  350.  Agri- 
culture and  produce,  351,  Cliiff  towns, 352.  Education,  359.  Char- 
acter, Manners,  Hcc,  305.  Ueli<,non,  constitution  and  government,  &c> 
3G0. 

Indiana,  Civil  divisions,  307.  Population  361).  Face  of  the  country 
Soil,  &c.  360.  Climate,  &c.  371.  Rivers,  372.  Chief  towns.  Char- 
acter of  the  country,  in  which  they  are  situated,  374.  Navigable  waters, 
382.  Indians,  383.  Game  and  fish.  Minerals  and  Fossils,  Antiquities, 
Curiosities,  384.  Roads  and  Canals,  385.  Seminaries,  385.  Con- 
stitution and  Government,  380.     History,  387.     Revenue,  388. 


Ohio,  Civil  Divisions,  380.  Population,  391.  Face  of  the  country, 
391.  Agricultural  productions,  303.  Rivers,  304.  Mineral^;  and 
mineral  spring,  402.  Climate,  403.  Antiquities,  404.  Increase  of 
population,  religion,  405.  Trade  and  Manufactures,  Colleges  and  Sem- 
inaries, 406.  Chief  Towns,  408.  Military  positions,  420.  Roads  and 
Canals,  420.     MiUtia,  Penitentiary,  Government,  421. 


(.:«. 


West  Pennsylvania,  Population,  Face  of  the  country,  Education,  423. 
Inhabitants,  Chief  Towns,  424. 


»•* 


West  Virginia,  Face  of  the  country,    430.     Streams,  Chief  Towns,       ^ 
431.  .    4 

Michigan,  Civil  divisions,  Population,  433.     Face  of  the  country,     «> 
Rivers,  443.    Islands,  435.     Indians,  Climate,  430.     Agriculture,  Man- 
ufactures, Exports,  &c.  430.     Chief  Towns,  437.    Government,  His-         * 
tory,  438.    Sketches  of  the  lakes  and  the  river  Niagara,  439. 


»fc 


North- West  Territory,  Uivur«,  440.     Face  of  the  country,  Minerals, 
Climate,  447.    Towns,  448, 


Tin 


CONTENTS. 


Minouri  Territory,  Face  of  Uio  country,  450.    Mountains,  451. 
Riven,  459.    Climate,  4M. 

Oregon  Territory,  458.    Rivers,  Face  of  the  country,  458.    Temper* 
•tur^  459.      Discovery  of  tho  country,  Mexican  States,  401. 


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PRKF^CE. 


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Had  the  author  been  nwaro,  when  he  nsiumcd  this  tank,  of  the  amouii 
of  labor  and  dilliculty,  in  whicli  it  would  involve  him,  he  would  have 
shrunk  from  it  in  dismay.  But  he  IkuI  announred  the  work  and  made  no 
inconsiderahlo  progress  in  it,  before  a  full  view  of  the  ditnculties  and 
discouragements  opened  upi»n  him.  One  of  tlie  dillicultioa,  siud  Chat 
by  no  means  nn  inconsiderable  one,  was  that  of  pnjcuring  materials  for 
all  that  part  of  the  work,  which  could  not  be  supplied  by  his  own  personal 
observation.  From  a  general  consciousness  of  the  western  people,  of  tho 
incompetence  of  most  of  those  who  have  assumed  to  collect  materials  for 
works  of  this  sort,  and  an  unwillingness,  that  their  names  should  stand, 
as  authorities,  it  has  happened,  that  they,  who  were  most  capable  of  fur- 
nishing materials,  have  heard  with  inditVurence  and  neglect  solicitations 
to  furnish  such  materiald. 

There  seems  to  be  but  one  sure  and  adequate  avenue  to  such  collection; 
and  that  is,  to  (ravel  from  state  to  state,  and  from  capital  to  capital,  to 
make  it  in  person.  Such  is  the  expense  attending  this  mode,  that  very 
few,  who  belong  to  the  proverbially  poor  fraternity  of  authors,  can  afford 
it.  Such,  also,  is  the  length  of  time,  necessary  to  complete  such  •  Sar, 
with  the  requisite  deliberation  and  delay,  that,  owing  to  tho  r"'  =  ^  ranges, 
etfected  in  the  scene  by  time ,  the  first  part  of  the  sketch  has  become  an 
inade<iuate  representation,  before  the  last  is  completed.  Whatever  be  the 
industry,  honesty  of  intention,  and  ability  of  the  author  of  such  a  work, 
he  must  be  content  to  prepare  it  under  all  tliese  disadvantages,  and 
identify  his  fortunes  with  a  class  of  writers,  whose  writings  upon  similar 
subjects,  however  deserving,  have  rapidly  passed  into  oblivion.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  i)reliminary  difliculties,  the  author  had  to  encounter  that  of 
ill  health,  which,  whether  it  be  nn  allowed  plea  to  enter,  in  palliation  of 
/lefccts,  or  not,  is  certainly  a  very  groat  iinpeuiuicnl  in  prosecuting  works 
of  this  sort.  At  the  same  time,  hiss  hands  have  been  tillcil  with  laborious 
avocationo  of  itnoiJier  kind. 


'-•<^i^„  — 


PREFACE. 


I    I 


Iff 


But  it  is  unnecessary  to  dwell  on  these,  and  various  other  difficulties 
easy  to  name.  The  iiuthor  had  given  a  pltdge,  and  'put  his  hand  to  the 
plough.''  He  felt,  too,  that  he  had  some  grounds,  on  which  to  assume 
such  a  work.  He  had  devoted  the  best  portion  of  twelve  years  to  explor- 
ing the  Western  coui4iry.  He  had  remained  one  or  more  seasons  in  each 
of  its  great  divisions.  He  had  been  familiar  with  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis, 
and  New  Orleans,  the  points  most  central  to  the  infor.nation  and  resources 
of  that  respective  divisions,  and  had  resided  in  each  of  those  capitals. 
He  lutd  traversed  this  great  valley,  in  all  its  chief  directions,  in  an  em- 
ployment, which  had  necessarily  brought  him  in  contact  with  all  classes 
-tif  its  people,  and  all  its  aspects  of  society.  He  had  had  abundant  com- 
munications with  its  scholars  and  distinguished  men.  As  an  earnest 
lover  of  nature,  he  had  contemplated  nature  in  the  West,  in  the  original, 
and  in  all  her  phases.  On  foot,  and  alone,  he  had  wandered  beside  her 
long  and  devious  streams.  He  had  been  between  two  and  three  hundred 
days  on  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributary  waters.  He  had  published 
'Recollections'  of  these  journeyings,  which  had  been  received  by  the 
public  with  great  kindness.  His  chief  elTorts,  as  an  author,  had  been 
directed  to  bringing  the  people  of  the  West  acquainted  with  one  another, 
and  the  beauty  and  resources  of  their  own  great  country.  He  hopes,  it 
will  not  be  deemed  assumption  for  him  to  say,  that  he  has  done  something 
towards  bringing  about  an  intimacy  of  good  feelings  between  the  elder 
sister,  whose  fair  domain  is  the  east  country,  the  fresh  breeze,  and  the 
shores  of  the  sea;  and  her  younger  sister,  whose  dotal  portion  is  tke 
western  woods,  and  the  fertile  shores  of  the  western  streams. 

A  kind  of  affectionate  feeling  for  the  country,  where  he  has  enjoyed, 
and  suffered,  all  that  the  human  heart  can  be  supposed  capable  of  feeling 
on  this  side  of  the  grave,  which  contains  his  children,  his  charities,  and 
all  those  ties,  which  call  forth  aspirations  for  its  well-being,  after  he  shall 
be  in  the  dust,  enlisted  his  first  purpose  to  commence  this  work.  The 
general  amenity  of  its  aspect,  its  boundless  woods  and  prairies,  its  long 
and  devious  streams,  and  its  unparalleled  advancement  in  population  and 
improvement,  filled  his  imagination.  He  had  seen  the  country,  in  some 
sense,  grow  up  under  his  eye.  He  saw  the  first  steam  boat,  that  descend- 
ed the  Mississippi.  He  had  seen  much  of  that  transformation,  as  if  of 
magic,  which  has  converted  the  wilderness  to  fields  and  orchards.  He 
has  wished  to  transfer  to  others  some  of  the  impressions,  which  have 
been  wrought  on  his  own  mind  by  witnessing  those  changes.  Such  were 
some  of  the  motives,  that  impelled  him  to  undertake  this  work. 

He  has  a  distinct  foresight  of  the  views,  which  some  will  entertain,  and 
express  in  reference  to  this  work.  But  he  can  pronounce  with  perfect 
simplicity  and  confidenee,  tha*  his  least  fears  of  criticism  are  from  those 


"^ 


i 


PRFACE. 


XI 


liificultiefl 
md  to  the 
Lo  assume 
to  explor- 
is  in  each 
St.  LouiS; 

resources 
i  capitals, 
in  an  em- 
all  classes 
jant  com- 
n  earnest 
}  original, 
beside  her 
i  hundred 
published 
id  by  the 
had  been 
e  another, 
3  hopes,  it 
something 

the  elder 
3,  and  the 
on  is  tke 

I  enjoyed, 
)f  feeling 
ties,  and 
he  shall 
The 
its  long 
ition  and 
in  some 
descend- 
as  if  of 
ds.  He 
ich  have 
iich  were 

ain,  and 
perfect 
m  those 


;%! 


•k. 


i 


whose  candor,  experience  and  ai)i]ity  best  qualify  them  to  judge-  At  any 
rate,  ho  will  cheerfully  suffer  the  sentence,  whatever  it  may  be,  which 
the  western  people  shall  pass  upon  this  work.  To  tliose,  who  have  pre- 
dicted, that  he  would  draw  too  largely  upon  tlie  language  and  the  color- 
ing of  poetry  and  the  imagination,  he  can  only  say,  that  it  has  been  his 
first  aim,  to  compress  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  useful  information 
into  the  smallest  compass.  He  has,  therefore,  rather  to  apprehend,  that 
Uie  intelligent  will  find  it  too  statistical  and  laconic,  too  much  Abbrevi- 
ated, and  divested  of  detail.  \ 

Something  more  than  half  the  compass  of  this  work  is  original,  in  the 
strictest  sense  of  the  word,  the  remarks  and  details  being  the  fruit  of  hig 
own  observation  or  reflection.  What  has  been  suggested  by  the  reading 
and  observation  of  those,  who  have  preceded  him  in  labors  of  this  kind» 
will  oe  generally  found,  he  thinks,  to  have  been  assimilated,  to  use  a  medi. 
oal  term,  and  to  have  received  in  his  mind  the  moulding  of  his  own 
manner.  But  touching  the  matter  obtained  from  other  books,  he  claims 
no  other  merit,  than  that  of  being  a  laborious  and  faithful  compiler. 
In  some  instances,  where  the  thoughts  could  not  be  better,  or  more  briefly 
expressed,  the  words  of  the  original  authors  may  have  been  used.  He 
has  referred  to  at  least  thirty  volumes,  and  to  those,  who  might  feel 
disposed  to  suggest,  that  he  has  made  a  book  from  the  labors  of  others, 
he  would  beg  leave  to  remark,  that,  if  they  shall  be  pleased  to  think,  that 
they  have  found  the  substance  of  all  these  volumes  in  this  work,  he  shall 
consider  it  the  highest  encomium,  they  can  pass  upon  it. 

He  feels  it  to  be  a  duty,  once  for  all,  to  make  the  mosl  frank  and  ample 
avowal  of  the  sources,  to  which  he  has  chiefly  repaired  for  compilation. 
That  works  of  history  and  geography  must  necessarily  be  prepared  in 
this  way,  no  person,  at  all  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  such  writings, 
need  be  told.  As  well  might  a  traveller  presurnc  to  claim  the  fee-simple 
of  all  the  country,  which  he  has  surveyed,  as  a  historian  and  geographer 
expect  to  preclude  those,  who  come  after  him,  from  making  a  proper  use 
of  his  labors.  If  the  former  writers  have  seen  accurately,  and  related 
&ithfully,  the  latter  ought  to  have  the  resemblance  of  declaring  the  same 
facts,  with  that  variety  only,  which  nature  has  cnstamped  upon  the  distinct 
elaborations  of  every  individual  mind.  Those  who  have  preceded  him, 
have  availed  themselves  of  the  observations  of  their  predecessors.  The 
author  flatters  himself,  that  his  work,  in  its  turn,  will  be  consulted  by 
those,  who  will  come  after  him.  As  works  of  this  sort  become  multi- 
plied, voluminous  and  detailed,  it  becomes  a  duty  to  literature  to  abstract, 
abridge,  and  give,  in  synoptical  views,  the.  information  thot  is  spread 
through  numerous  volumes.  So  far  from  its  being  the  tendency  of  a 
work  of  this  kind  to  undervalue,  and  preclude  the  use  of  works,  from 


6-f.; 


I  "  I  '>"  *—BJBW)ifW 


Xll 


I'REEACR. 


*  I 


which  it  is  compiled,  he  would  Jiopo,  lliat  adverting  to  the  original  works, 
by  pointing  to  the  sources  of  liis  inforniation,  W(jiild  have  the  contrary 
effect  of  inducing  those  readers,  who  wish  to  view  the  suhject  in  all  its 
details  and  bearings,  to  repair  to  those  works,  and  rescue  them  from 
oblivion.  Many  of  them  are  works  of  great  merit,  and  have  undesenredly 
passed  i^to  disuse. 

Ho  bfts  not  considered  it  necessary  to  give  individual  quotations,  or  to 
disfigllre  the  margin  with  references  and  autliorities.  The  reader  ought  to 
rely  /^pon  the  fact,  that  nothing  is  here  put  down,  which  has  not  been 
previously  weighed  in  the  author^s  mind,  and  admitted,  either  as  matter 
of  his  own  observation,  or  on  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  competent  and 
credible  testimony  of  others.  Sometimes  upon  a  particular  point,  h« 
has-adopted  the  phraseology  of  the  author  entire.  At  other  times,  he  has 
adjusted  the  views  of  one  author  by  another,  endeavouring  to  settle  a 
just  medium  from  the  result  of  his  own  observations. 

For  the  topographical  and  geographical  parts,  he  has  chiefly  consulted 
the  following  authors,  viz :  Charlevoix,  Volncy,  Bartram,  Breckenridge, 
Darby,  Stoddard,  Atwater,  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Navigator,  Dana,  Emi- 
grant's Guide,  Long's  Exjjeditions,  Pike,  Schoolcraft,  Beck,  successive 
extracts  from  Cincinnati  Directories,  and  Woodruff's  Engraving  of  the 
city,  corre^ndence  with  Mr.  Dunbar  of  Mississppi,  Dr.  McKay  of  Arkan- 
sas, Judge  Carr  of  St.  Louis,  Rev.  M.  Peers,  and  Professor  Caldwell  of 
Kentucky,  Daniel  Bryan,  Esq.  of  Alexandria,  and  Messrs  Lanier  and 
Farnham  of  Indiana ;  beside  short  extracts  from  various  correspondents 
and  cotemporary  Gazettes  too  numerous  to  specify. 

In  reference  to  the  second  part  of  this  work,  it  is  from  the  obvious 
necessity  of  the  case,  more  sinjply  a  work  of  compilation,  than  tlie  former- 
He  has  indeed  brought  every  item  of  his  own  personal  observation  to 
bear  upon  it.  But  that  observation  in  any  individual  case  must  be  limit- 
ed. He  could  not  name,  if  disposed,  all  the  sources,  from  which  he  has 
sought  and  obtained  information.  For  many  facts  he  has  relied  on  the 
authority  of  Mr.  Worcester's  excellent  Gazetteer.  The  portions  of  the 
work,  that  treat  of  the  country  beyond  the  United  States,  have  been 
chiefly  drawn  from  Capt.  Parry,  Malte  Brun,  Humboldt,  Breckenridge, 
and  Bullock.  But  the  intelligent  reader  will  readily  understand,  that  in 
the  present  state  of  our  intelligence,  touching  the  physical  geography  of 
Mexico  and  South  America,  Malic  Brun  has  left  little  to  be  said  after 
him.     Of  course  he  has  been  the  authority  chiefly  followed. 

He  regrets  that  other  motives,  than  his  own  inchnation,  inculcated  by 
experience  have  compelled  him  to  omit  the  greater  portions  of  the  history 
of  the  western  country,  and  roplact;  ii   witli  more  extended  details  ot 


'z 

■X 


i 

r 


i 


~''**miittmmfB 


PREFACE. 


XUl 


rial  works, 
5  contrary 
t  in  all  its 
hem  from 
Jesenredly 

ions,  or  to 
ir  ought  to 
3  not  been 
as  matter 
X2tent  and 
point,  h« 
les,  he  has 
0  settle  a 

consulted 
:kenridge, 
•ana,  Emi- 
successive 
ing  of  the 
of  Arkan- 
'aldwell  of 
anier  and 
ispondents 

e  obvious 
le  former- 
rvation  to 
be  limit- 
ch  he  has 
3d  on  the 
)ns  of  the 
ave  been 
kenridge, 
id,  that  in 
graphy  of 
said  after 


statistical  and  physical  geography,  the  points  of  absorbing  interest  about 
which  emigrants  to  the  great  West  are  chiefly  solicitous. 

He  would  have  been  amused,  if  an  author  were  apt  to  be  so  amused 
by  the  criticisms  elicited  by  his  first  edition.  He  desires  to  withdraw  his 
hands  from  the  scalding  element  of  cotomporary  history,  while  the  parties 
are  still  on  the  stage.  The  manner  and  form  must  have  been  fashioned 
to  the  dictation  of  a  thousand  individuals  to  have  pleased ;  and  what  is 
worse,  the  emendation  proposed  by  one  would  have  been  the  most  annoy- 
ing blemish  to  another.  He  knows  no  remedy  for  the  deluge  of  criticism^ 
that  inundates  the  land,  but  a  callousness  of  patience  equal  to  every 
proof.  The  reader  knows  better  than  himself,  that  it  is  a  great  evil  to 
write  a  great  book.  Though  he  is  desirous  of  perpetrating  the  very 
offence,  there  are  but  too  many,  with  whom  it  is  a  more  unpardonable 
fault,  to  write  a  good  one. 

His  former  work  met  with  a  criticism  equally  generous,  eloquent  and 
just,  in  tlie  North  American  Review,  and  a  shorter  but  not  less  generous 
and  happy  notice  in  the  New- York  Evening  Post,  he  has  no  doubt,  from 
the  pen  of  William  Biyant,  Esq.,  of  whose  laudatory  notice,  if  any  one 
were  not  proud,  he  would  be  more  or  less  than  man. 

He  would  have  attributed  something  of  the  fervid  and  affectionate 
notice  of  that  work,  he  presumes  from  the  pen  of  his  friend.  Dr. 
Caldwell,  to  the  partiality  of  a  long  and  tried  friendship,  had  he  not  been 
aware,  that  he  holds  even  his  partialities  in  severe  subjection  to  his 
judgment. 

To  Morgan  Neville  and  Charles  Hammond,  Esqrs.,  he  is  indebted  for 
much  aid  in  furnishing  books  and  documents  on  this  and  various  similar 
occasions.  It  would  be  ungrateful  in  him  to  close  without  referring  to 
the  continued  kindness  of  Henry  Starr,  Esq.,  who  confers  favors  with  so 
much  ease  and  unconsciousness  as,  probably,  to  have  forgotten,  that  he 
owes  him  this  public  expression  of  his  gratitude. 

For  the  rest,  every  indulgent  reader  will  overlook  such  errors  of  the 
press,  as  have  occurred,  when  informed,  that  a  considerable  part  of  the 
work  was  carried  through  the  press,  while  the  author  was  laboring  under 
severe  indisposition. 

Cincinnati,  January  1st,  1632. 


ilcated  by 
le  tiistory 
It-tails  ot 


XIV 


POSTSCRIPT. 


;.n 


The  following  extract  from  a  communication  from  Mr.  Neville  to  the 
author  of  this  work,  in  reply  to  certain  enquiries,  gives  a  condensed  and 
hasty  account  of  the  dreadful  flood  which  has  just  spread  destruction  over 
an  extent  of  rich  and  fertile  country,  of  at  least  1,000  miles.  As  it  re- 
cords an  event  almost  simultaneous  with  the  publication  of  the  "Geogra- 
phy," and  which  must  form  an  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  West, 
I  have  thought  it  not  irrelevant  to  give  it  a  place  in  the  Preface.  It  will 
be  of  more  convenient  reference,  than  the  columns  of  a  newspaper. 

/  '  Cincinnati,  February  29th,  1832. 

J  SiH,  In  reply  to  your  interrogatory  on  the  subject  of  the  freshet,  which 
'at  this  moment  presents  such  a  scene  of  desolation  and  suffering,  I  can 
state  that  in  my  opinion  such  a  flood  has  never  happened  since  the  settle- 
ment of  the  AVestern  Country.  I  was  born  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
and  my  recollection  extends  back  to  a  period  when  Cincinnati  was  but  a 
village;  and  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  tliat  I  never  saw  the  water  so  high  by 
many  feet. 

The  Ohio,  after  having  been  frozen  up  and  covered  by  the  thickest  ice 
which  was  ever  witnessed  in  this  city,  during  the  whole  of  the  month  of 
December  and  part  of  January,  broke  up  about  the  6th  of  that  month, 
doing  incalculable  damage  throughout  the  whole  course  of  this  noble 
stream.  From  that  period  until  about  ten  days  since,  there  has  been  a 
succession  of  rains,  which  were  suflicient  to  keep  the  river  and  its  tribu- 
taries at  heights  rather  greater  than  ordinary ;  on  the  7th  of  this  month 
the  water  commenced  swelling  with  uncommon  rapidity,  with  a  settled 
rain,  the  wind  at  S.  W.,  and  the  temperature  such  as  to  lead  to  the  conclu- 
sion, that  the  rain  was  as  extensive  as  it  was  heavy.  On  Saturday  night 
the  10th  inst.  it  increased  to  a  perfect  storm.  On  Monday,  13th,  the 
Ohio  had  gained  the  maximum  of  1826,  estimated  the  greatest.rise  for  the 
last  17  years.  At  this  point  it  appeared  to  become  stationary,  and  prob- 
ably had  commenced  receding.  A  few  hours  produced  a  melancholy 
change;  the  river  again  advanced,  and  passing  the  old  marks  of  1815, 
and  1793,  poured  its  flood  through  the  aqueduct  under  Main  street  into 
Columbia.  Shortly  after,  the  river  at  the  lower  part  of  the  town  broke 
over  the  Levee,  and  joining  the  water  rushing  out  of  the  aqueduct,  pre- 
sented the  novel  and  distressing  sight  of  a  rapid  river  having  Columbia 
street  for  its  bed.  At  this  time  the  merchants  in  Main  street,  between 
Front  and  Columbia,  after  ineffectually  attempting  to  keep  the  water  out 
of  their  cellars  by  clay  embankments,  yielded  the  contest  and  turned  all 
their  exertions  to  removing  their  goods  from  their  cellars  to  their  first  floors. 
The  merchants  in  Front  street  had  been  driven  to  this  alternative  a  day 
or  two  before.  The  draymen  now  having  nothing  to  do  in  their  usual 
business,  found  ample  employment  in  transporting  business  men  and  oth- 
ers, attracted  by  curiosity,  across  Columbia  street  at  the  different  cross 
streets,  from  Broadway  down  to  the  low  ground  at  the  west  end  of  the 
town.  In  the  mean  time  the  river  continued  rising  at  a  rate  seldom  wit- 
nessed even  when  confined  within  its  banks;  the  merchants  in  Front  st. 
were  forced  to  remove  their  property  to  the  second  stories — those  on  Main 
soon  found  it  necessary  to  follow  their  example.  Drays  disappeared, 
and  small  crafts  of  various  and  novel  construction  took  their  place.     It 


m 


it 
1 

-■«. 


'^ms* 


'eni*" 


POSTSCRIPT. 


*^..#. 


XV 


lUe  to  tlic 
insed  and 
ction  over 
As  itre- 
"Geogrt- 
theWest, 
.  II  will 
iper. 

1832. 
let,  which 
ng,  lean 
the  settle- 
the  Ohio, 
kvas  but  a 
0  high  by 

ickest  ice 

month  of 

lat  month) 

his  noble 

as  been  a 

its  tribu- 

lis  month 

[  a  settled 

le  conclu- 

day  night 

L3th,  the 

ise  for  the 

md  prob- 

slancholy 

of  1815, 

treet  into 

ivn  broke 

net,  pre- 

]!olumbia 

between 

ater  out 

irned  all 

St  floors. 

^e  a  day 

}ir  usual 

and  oth- 

nt  cross 

d  of  the 

om  wit- 

ront  St. 

n  Main 

peared, 

ce.     It 


was  then  found  that  precautions  for  security  had  been  postponed  too  long. 
A  vast  amount  of  merchandise  and  produce  was  destroyed  before  it  could  be 
raised  to  the  second  stories.  The  lower  part  of  the  town  was  completely 
inundated,  and  the  small  frame  houses,  which  composed  the  greatest 
amount  of  buildings  in  that  section  of  the  city,  were  threatened  with  de- 
struction. I  have  not  yet  understood  how  many  have  been  destroyed, 
but  in  looking  down  upon  them  from  Fourth  street,  I  counted  yesterday 
nearly  20  entirely  upset.  The  call  of  humanity  was  obeyed  before  that 
of  interest;  labourers  could  not  be  had  in  sufficient  numbers  to  assist  tlw 
merchants,  because  they  were  engaged  in  removing  hundreds  of  wretch- 
ed families  from  the  flood  below.  There  were  several  steam  boats  in  har- 
bor, and  the  yawls  of  all  found  ample  employment.  The  edge  of  th« 
water  below  Race  street  presented  scenes  only  equalled  in  cases  of  wid« 
spread  conflagrations,  such  as  that  at  Fayctteville,  last  summer.  Boats 
were  constantly  landing  unfortunate  families  who,  with  their  little  prop- 
erty, remained  exposed  to  the  weather  until  the  city  authorities  could 
provide  shelter  and  food.  Finally,  on  Thursday  the  16th  inst.  the  work 
of  desolation  was  consummated ;  the  water  broke  over  the  bank  from  Deer 
Creek  bridge  at  the  east  end  of  the  city,  to  Main  street,  turned  the  current 
of  Columbia  street  down,  and  laid  the  whole  of  the  town  lying  between 
Lower  Market  or  Second  st.  and  the  river,  under  water,  except  the  large 
stores  on  the  south  side  of  Pearl  and  Market  streets.  The  cellars  of 
those,  however  were  filled  with  water,  which,  with  little  variation,  rose  in 
them  all  to  within  an  inch  or  two  of  the  floors.  I  believe  the  cellars  on 
the  north  side  of  these  streets  are  partially  filled  with  water  also. 

The  scene  presented  at  this  moment,  and  the  revolution  produced  in 
the  appearance  of  things  can  scarcely  be  believed  by  ourselves;  it  re- 
sembles more  the  extravagance  of  a  dream,  than  reality.  All  that  part 
of  the  town  below  Walnut  street  under  water  is  occupied  by  private  resi- 
dences, and  probably  includes  nearly  one-third  of  the  population  of  the 
city.  Water,  Front,  and  Columbia  streets  are  distinguished  by  many  ex- 
cellent brick  houses ;  the  population  is  more  dense  than  in  any  other  portion 
of  the  town.  When  the  water  reached  the  first  floor,  the  families  remov- 
ed up  stairs,  and  those  who  were  sufficiently  provident  to  have  fuel  car- 
ried up  in  time,  have  remained  ever  since,  (now  4  days,)  in  their  houses, 
surrounded  by  a  sea  in  miniature;  many,  however,  have][abandoned  their 
houses  and  taken  up  tlieir  residence  at  public  houses,  and  with  their  friends 
on  the  hill.  Notwithstanding  this  melancholy  state  of  things,  the  mode 
of  living  is  matter  of  amusement  to  many  of  the  families  thus  surround- 
ed. When  misfortune  cannot  be  avoided,  there  is  a  kind  of  instinctive 
philosophy  in  man,  which  makes  us  submit  often  with  a  good  grace. 
Thousands  of  boats  have  sprung  into  existence,  like  Minerva,  from  the 
brain  of  the  "Thunderer."  The  scene  is  absolutely  Venetian.  Every 
house  has  its  boat,  already  called  a  gondola,  in  which  the  owners  travel 
about  on  their  necessary  vocations;  visits  are  regularly  made  in  this  way. 
In  passing  down  to  a  friend's  house  yesterday  in  his  "craft,"  I  passed  two 
or  three  gondolas  with  young  gentlemen  in  them,  under  the  windows  of 
their  female  acquaintances;  I  cannot  say  decidedly  that  they  were 
breathing  vows  or  wafting  sighs  k»  tlic  ears  of  the  laughing  fair  ones  ■ 
but  I  did  observe  wicker  baskets  drawn  up  by  cords,  which,  on  enquiry, 

found  to  be  filled  with  refreshments  instead  of  billets.     This  employ- 


I 


XVI 


1^' 


POSTSCRIPT. 


Ww 


■i 

rl    » 


V     1 


ment,  if  not  so  dangerous  was  doubtless  equally  useful  as  that  of  the 
old  Knights  Errant  relieving  imprisoned  damsels  from  the  castles  of 
giants  and  magicians. 

The  waters  have  commenced  receding  tliis  day,  the  19th  inst. ;  but  the 
river  falls  slowly.  Tlie  amount  of  damage,  exclusive  of  the  actual  8us> 
pension  of  all  business,  cannot  be  yet  estimated;  but  it  must  be  very  consid- 
erable. I  have  already  heard  of  several  individuals  who  have  lost  from 
4  to  6,000  dollars  in  damaged  goods;  but  the  worst  remains*  We  dread 
to  see  the  state  of  the  streets  and  cellars  when  the  river  subsides.  It  will 
be  terrible,  and  unless  the  most  vigorous  measures  be  immediately  tnken, 
our  beautiful  and  flourishing  city  will  probably  next  summer  be  the  thea- 
tre of  some  malignant  disease. 

This  flood  forms  an  Era  in  the  history  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi; 
it  is  probably  four  to  five  feet  higher  than  any  freshet  which  has  happened 
since  the  first  settlement  of  the  country;  and  wlien  we  reflect  that  it  has 
swept  through  a  country  well  filled  with  towns  and  villages,  and  distin- 
guished by  fertile  fields  and  rich  settlements,  for  the  distance  of  900 
miles,  our  anticipation  must  needs  be  most  gloomy.  The  loss  of  life,  we 
fear,  must  be  great;  the  loss  of  property  can  never  be  calculated.  The 
bottom  ground  plan  of  Cincinnati  is  as  high,  if  not  higher,  than  any  other 
bottom  situation  of  the  river. 

Upon  the  whole,  the  citizens  of  Cincinnati  will  have  cause  to  remember 
the  winter  of  1831-2.  It  was  ushered  in  by  a  series  of  cold  weatlier  never 
witnessed  before  in  this  country,  either  for  intenseness  or  duration,  which 
closing  the  river  and  canal  for  six  weeks,  made  fuel  as  dear  and  scarce  as 
in  the  Atlantic  cities.  Next  the  Water  Works  was  burnt  down,  which, 
in  addition  to  the  want  of  water,  produced  the  necessity  of  establishing 
Volunteer  Watches,  to  prevent  further  suflering  from  fires.  And  to  con- 
clude, we  are  now  visited  by  a  flood  of  a  character  which,  20  days  ago, 
we  would  have  considered  as  improbable,  as  a  collision  with  the  expected 
comet ! 

The  water,  at  its  highest  elevation,  was  63  feet  above  low  water  mark. 
The  velocity  of  the  current  six  miles  and  a  quarter  per^our. 


.^■' 


1-       7       / 

* 


^ 


HISTORY   AND  GEOGRAPHY 


OF  THE 


VALLEY   OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 


We  do  not  intend  in  these  introductory  remarks,  to  enlarge  upon 
BO  copious  an  article,  as  the  geology  of  this  valley.  We  reserve  more 
particular  observations  for  sectional  heads  of  this  subject.  We  dismiss 
it  here,  by  observing  that  the  valley  itself  is  universally,  of  what 
geologists  call  secondary  formation,  with  here  and  there  bjulders  of 
granitic  rock,  out  of  place  ;  that  the  western  slopes  of  the  AUeghanies 
are  generally  of  what  is  called  the  transition  character ;  that  the 
southern  extremities  of  the  lakes  are  transition,  and  the  nothern  granitic 
and  primitive  in  their  formation  ;  that  the  Rocky  Mountains  are,  for  the 
most  part,  primitive,  until  we  approach  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  the  Mexican 
state  of  Texas,  where  the  strata  of  rock  again  appear  to  be  blue  lime 
stone.  Over  all  the  immense  valley  between  these  limits,  there  ire 
marks  of  recent  formation, — apparent  indications  as  Volney  conjectured, 
that  the  country  was  once  submerged,  and  has,  not  many  ages  since, 
emerged  from  under  waters  ;  and  that  to  casual  inspection,  the  vallies, 
the  bluffs  and  the  hills,  the  regular  lamina  of  stones,  and  strata  of  soil, 
the  marine  exuviae,  and  in  short,  all  the  physical  aspects  of  the  country 
wear  the  appearance  of  once  having  been  the  bed  of  seas,  or  fresh  water 
lakes. 

From  its  character  of  recent  formation,  from  the  prevalence  of  lime 
stone  everywhere,  from  the  decomposition  which  it  has  undergone,  and  is 
constantly  undergoing,  from  the  considerable  proportion  of  decomposed 
lime  stone  in  the  soil,  probably  results  another  general  attribute  of  this 
valley — its  character  of  uncommon  fertility.  We  would  not  be  understood 
to  assert,  that  the  country  is  every  where  alike  fertile.  It  has  its  sterile 
sections.  There  are  here,  as  els-j'vhere,  infinite  diversities  of  soil,  from 
the  richest  alluvions^  to  tV  mpst  miserable  (lint  knobs  ;  from  the  tangled 


f^. 


mmmmmm* 


"'^'^'^Sfft. 


* 


III' 


) '- 


16 


^   -■•  i 


MIS8IMIPPI   VALLEY. 


cane  brakes,  to  the  poorest  pine  lulls.  There  are,  too,  it  i«  well  known, 
towarcLi  the  Rocky  Mountains,  wide  belts,  that  have  a  surface  of 
sterile  sands,  or  only  covered  with  a  spirac  vegetation  of  weeds  and 
coarse  grass.  But  of  the  country  in  general,  the  most  cursory  observer 
must  have  remarked,  that,  compared  with  lands,  apparently  of  the  same 
character  in  other  regions,  the  lands  here  obviously  show  marks  of 
singular  fertility.  The  most  ordinary,  third  rate,  oak  lands,  will  bring 
successive  crops  of  wheat  and  maize,  without  any  manuring,  and  with 
but  little  care  of  cultivation.  The  pine  lands  of  the  southern  regions 
are  in  many  places  cultivated  for  years,  without  any  attempts  at 
manuring  them.  The  same  fact  is  visible  in  the  manner,  in  which 
vegetation  in  this  country  resists  drought.  It  is  a  proverb  on  the  good 
lands,  that  if  there  be  moisture  enough  to  bring  the  corn  to  genninate, 
and  come  up,  there  will  be  a  crop  if  no  more  rain  falls,  until  the  harvest. 
We  have  a  thousand  times  observed  this  crop,  continuing  to  advance 
towards  a  fresh  and  vigorous  maturity,  under  a  pressure  of  drought,  and 
a  continuance  of  cloudless  ardor  of  sun,  that  would  have  burned  up 
and  destroyed  vegetation  in  the  Atlantic  country. 

We  have  supposed  this  fertility  to  arise,  either  from  an  uncommon 
proportion  of  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil ;  from  the  saline  impregnations 
mixed  with  the  earth,  as  evidenced  in  the  numberless  licks,  and  springs 
of  salt  water,  and  the  nitrous  character  of  the  soil,  wherever,  as  in 
caves,  or  under  buildings,  it  is  sheltered  from  moisture  ;  or,  as  we  have 
remarked,  from  the  general  diffusion  of  dissolved  lime  stone,  and  marly 
mixtures  over  the  surface.  In  some  way,  spread  by  the  waters,  diffused 
through  the  soil,  or  the  result  of  former  decomposition,  there  is  evidently 
much  of  the  quickening  and  fertilizing  power  of  lime  mixed  with  the^ 
soil. 

Face  op  the  Country,  &c.  Our  prescribed  limits  will  necessarily 
dwtate  brevity  to  us,  in  touching  on  this  topic.  The  Alleghany  moun« 
tains,  as  is  well  known,  stretch  along  in  ridges,  that  run  parallel  to 
each  other,  with  great  uniformity.  They  form  the  eastern  rampart  of 
this  great  valley.  The  middle  ridge  appears  to  be  generally  the  most 
elevated;  to  separate  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  from  those  of  the  Missis- 
sippi ;  and  gives  name  to  the  rest.  Another  of  these  ridges  has  the  name 
of  the  Laurel  ridge,  from  the  number  cf  laurels  growing  on  its  sides. 
Approaching  these  ridges,  they  are  a  sublime  object,  as  seen  in  the 
distance.  They  rise  before  you,  apparently  an  impassable  barrier,  their 
blue  outlines  pencilled,  like  clouds,  on  the  sky,  and  their  northern  and 
southern  extremities  both  running  beyond  the  reach  of  vision.  The 
ascent  from  the  Atlantic  side  *s  ^renerallj  r.iore  abrupt  and  precipitous, 
than  on  the  descent  towards  the  valley  of  the  MissiEfsipoi. 


4 


FACE  OP  THE  COUNTRY. 


10 


/veil  knownr 
surface  of 
'  weeds  and 
iry  observer 
of  the  same 
N  marks  of 
,  will  bring 
T,  and  with 
em  regions 
attempts  at 
r,  in  which 
on  the  good 
)  germinate, 
the  harvest, 
to  advance 
Irought,  and 
burned  up 

uncommon 
ipregnations 

and  springs 
rever,  as  in 
,  as  we  have 
and  marly 
ers,  diffused 

is  evidently 
ed  with  the> 

necessarily 
iiany  moun~ 
parallel  to 
rampart  of 
lly  the  most 
the  Missis- 
is  the  name 
an  its  sides, 
leen  in  the 
arrier,  their 
orthern  and 
sion.     The 
precipitousj. 


*rhe  last  western  range  exhibits,  very  strikingly,  the  regular  distribution 
of  the  lamina  of  lime  stone,  and  the  unifoiinity  of  their  dip,  as  though 
they  had  been  laid,  stratum  upon  stratum,  l)y  art.  The  composition  is, 
for  the  most  part,  cither  lime  stone,  argillito,  gray  Wiickc,  and  combina- 
tions of  slaty  matter  with  sulphate  of  iron;  in  short,  those  kinds  of 
combinations,  which  occur  between  motalifcrous  lime  stone,  and  inclined 
sand  stone.  Between  the  Alh^frJiany  mountain  and  the  last  western 
ridges,  the  tributaries  of  the  Ohio  begin  to  show  themselves  in  the  form 
of  rivers.  Their  murmur  is  heard,  as  they  rapidly  roll  along  their  rocky 
beds,  breaking  the  stillness  of  the  mountain  forest;  and  they  often  wind 
great  distances,  before  they  find  their  place  of  escape  from  the  mountains. 
The  scenery  on  one  of  the  transits  over  the  mountains  has  arrested  the 
attention  of  most  travellers.  A  turnpike  road  leads  near,  where  the 
Loyalhanna  has  divided  the  Laurel  ridge  to  its  base.  The  view,  that 
appertains  to  this  chasm,  is  at  once  striking  and  sublime.  A  beautiful 
mountain  stream,  overhanging  mount  ins,  the  breeze  sweeping  down 
the  sloping  forest,  profound  solitude,  thv  screaming  of  the  jay,  and  the 
dash  of  the  river,  rolling  rapidly  along  i  i.  rocky  bed,  and  its  waters 
hidden  under  the  shade  of  laurels,  conspire  to  soothe  and  elevate  the 
mind. 

After  we  descend  the  last  mountain  summit  towards  the  valley,  the 
country  is  still  a  succession  of  high  hills,  generally  rounded  smoothly 
down  their  declivities,  and  with  more  or  less  of  table  land  on  tlieir 
summits.  On  the  very  tops  of  the  Alleghaniea  we  discover  the  indica- 
tions of  approach  towards  the  region  of  coal.  On  the  summits  of  the 
hills  beyond  the  mountains,  the  eye  not  only  traces  it  among  the  clay 
slate,  by  the  blackened  surface  of  the  road,  but  the  sense  of  smell 
detects  it  in  the  atmosphere  about  the  houses,  and  indicates,  that  in  the 
midst  of  woods,  it  is  the  easiest  fuel  to  procure.  Its  dark  smoke 
streams  from  the  funnel  of  the  blacksmith's  forge.  Pittsburgh  and 
Wheeling  are  blackened  with  its  impalpable  effluvia. 

Following  tlie  course  of  the  AUeghanies,  south  of  the  Ohio,  and 
along  the  foot  of  the  ridges  is  generally  a  country  of  undulating  and 
elevated  swells,  covered,  while  in  its  natural  state,  with  a  heavy  forest. 
The  country  about  Pittsburgh  may  be  called  hilly,  though  there  are 
few  hills  so  precipitous,  as  not  to  be  susceptible  of  cultivation. — 
Through  the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  sections  of  the  Mississippi 
valley,  you  traverse  hill  beyond  hill,  generally  with  small  and  fertile 
Tallies  between  them.  Some  of  these  hills  have  almost  the  character  of 
mountains.  They  are  for  the  most  part,  however,  susceptible  of  good 
roads. 


ltIiill9SIPl>l    VALLEY. 


i  I 

1*1 
J 


On  the  national  road,  as  we  descend  the  last  mountain  towards 
Brownsvillfl,  and  the  valley  of  the  Monongahela,  the  eye  takes  in  an 
liorizon,  ai  broad  as  it  can  roach,  of  hills,  vnllics,  orchards,  and  pasture 
grounds  of  champnigne  and  rich  country  in  the  two  states.  The 
xontrasta  of  the  open  pastures  and  fields,  pencilled  by  a  perfectly  straight 
line  on  the  edge  of  the  thick  forests,  and  on  the  rounded  summits  of 
the  hills,  afford  a  delightful  prospect.  The  finest  parts  of  the  interior 
•of  New  England  will  scarcely  compare  with  this  view.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  views  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  as  we  successively  ap- 
proach them,  in  coming  over  the  mountains  from  North  Carolina  and 
Virginia.  After  we  have  left  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  mountains, 
Kentucky  is  neither  hilly,  nor  level,  but  has  a  general  surface  of 
delightful  undulation.  There  are  beautiful  and  extensive  vallies,  with 
only  sufficient  irregularity  of  surface  to  carry  off  the  waters.  Such  is 
that  charming  valley,  of  which  Lexington  is  the  centre;  and  such  is 
that,  embracing  the  barrens  of  Green  river. 

Tennessee  is  more  generally  hilly.  The  great  ranges  of  the  Alleghanies 
diverge  into  separate  mountains  in  this  state  and  divide  it  into  two 
distinct  sections,  called  East  and  West  Tennessee. 

Keeping  parallel  with  the  mountains,  and  still  advancing  south,  in 
Alabama  the  hills  begin  to  subside,  although  the  northern  and  western 
parts  of  this  state  may  still  be  called  mountainous.  But,  on  entering 
this  state,  the  features  of  the  country  begin  manifestly  to  change.  On 
the  hills,  instead  of  oaks  and  deciduous  trees,  we  begin  to  hear  the 
T)reeze  in  the  tops  of  long  leaved  pines.  We  have  a  long  succession  of 
pine  hills,  and  fertile  vallies  between  them.  We  soon  mark  another 
very  striking  change  in  the  landscape.  In  coming  from  the  Ohio,  we 
have  seen  the  country,  in  a  state  of  nature,  universally  covered  with  a 
thick  forest,  generally  of  deciduous  trees,  with  here  and  there  a  rare  holly 
tree,  or  other  evergreen.  We  have  afterwards  traversed  extensive  pine 
forests  of  the  black,  or  pitch  pine,  with  tall  straight  trees,  and  the  earth 
beneath  them  free  from  under  brush,  covered  with  grass,  and  almost 
entirely  destitute  of  stones.  In  the  rich  alluvial  vallies  we  remark  a 
considerable  portion  of  laurels.  The  forests  preserve  an  unvarying 
verdure  through  the  winter.  We  begin  to  notice  these  forests  first  giving 
place  to  the  barrens,  with  a  few  sparse  trees,  arranged,  as  in  an  orchard. 
These  barrens  are  soon  succeeded  by  prairies,  or  savannas,  as  they  are 
here  called.  The  hills  have  subsided  to  extensive,  level  and  grassy 
plains;  and  this  order  of  landscape  continues,  until  we  meet  the  belt  of 
pine  forest,  that  skirts  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  Its  swampy  and  equable 
surface  rises  but  little  above  the  level  of  the  gulf,  and  is  separated  from 


m 


4 


:4 


SUM^-***-..,,^- 


TACF.   or   TIIF.   tOlNTRV. 


•1 


dill  towards 

tukcs  in  an 
I  and  pasture 
states.  The 
:ctly  straight 

summits  of 
■  the  interior 
he  same  may 
cefsively  ap- 
Carolina  and 
e  mountains, 
1  surface  of 

vallies,  with 
!rs.     Such  is 

and  such  is 

eAlleghanies 
it  into  two 

ing  south,  in 

and  western 

,  on  entering 

change.    On 

to  hear  the 

uccession  of 

lark  another 

ho  Ohio,  we 

vered  with  a 

a  rare  holly 

tensive  pine 

nd  the  earth 

and  almost 

re  remark  a 

unvarying 

first  giving 

an  orchard. 

as  they  arc 

and  grassy 

t  the  belt  of 

nd  equable 

Pirated  from 


m 


J 


It  by  a  margin  of  sand,  driven  into  iitui}:!  by  tht:  mutual  incesMuil  action 
of  the  wind  and  the  .soa. 

Beginning  ngiiinon  iho  norlli  sidcof  tho  Allo^rhnny  river,  and  descend- 
ing that  river  hotwron  ihc  north  l);uil<  aid  the  lakes,  the  first  portion 
of  the  country  is   hilly  ;  l)ut,  as   \\v.   dosrcnd  towards  the  Ohio,  the 
country,  though  in  some  [)l;ices.  |)jrlit;iil;iily  alony  the  Muskingum, hilly, 
is  generally  only  gently  wavinj:,  nnd  is  on  the  whole  more  level  than  the 
south  side  of  the  Ohio.     Appro  ichin;,'  the  hikes,  the  country  becomes  quite 
level;  and  there  are  various  pin ces  in  the  northern  parts  cf  Ohio,  Indiana, 
and  Illinois,  near  the  lakes,  where  the  country  is  so  level,  marshy  and  low, 
as  in  winter  and  spring  to  be  covered  with  water  from  four  inches  to  a  foot 
in  depth.     The  northeastern  pirts  of  Ohio  mny  be  considered  hilly.    In 
passing  on  the  great  road  from  Wheeling  to  Cincinnati,  there  are,  indeed) 
near  the  Scioto,  considerable  plains.     But  the  general  aspect  of  the  coun 
try  presents  fine  elevations,  often  a  Icngiie  nrross,  with  rich  table  land  un 
the  summits,  and  the  declivities  susceptible  of  cultivation.     For  five  or 
six  miles  from  either  bank  of  the  Ohio,  there  are,  almost  universally 
high  hills  of  a  singular  configuration,  known  by  the  name  of  the  'Ohio 
hills.' 

From  the  Scioto  the  r.spect  of  tlie  country  is  more  level;  and  on  thtt 
waters  of  this  river  we  begin  to  discover  our  approach  to  the  wide  prairies 
of  the  west.  We  open  upon  the  fine,  level  Pickaway,  or  Piqua  prairies, 
or  plains ;  and  thence  throug!  the  northern  parts  of  this  state,  advancing 
west,  along  the  plains  of  Mad  river,  and  into  Indiana,  prairies  become 
more  common  in  the  same  proportion,  as  we  advance  farther  west.  The 
general  surface  of  the  timbered  country  is  more  level.  As  we  approach 
the  Ohio,  the  forest  is  more  dense  and  uniform,  and  that  river,  in  its  whole 
course,  originally  rolled  through  an  unbroken  forest.  In  Indiana  the  pro- 
portion of  prairie  land  is  far  greater,  than  in  Ohio ;  and  in  Illinois  it  has  an 
immense  disproportion  over  tlie  t  imbered  country.  Back  of  Shawnee  town, 
and  between  the  waters  of  the  Saline  of  the  Ohio,  and  those  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, from  the  base  of  this  level  country  springs  up  a  singular  chain  of 
hills,  which  a  recent  traveller  has  seen  fit  to  dignify  with  the  name  of 
mountains.  The  remainder  of  the  state  of  Illinois  may  be  for  the  most 
part  designated,  as  a  country  of  prairies  and  plains. 

Beyond  the  state  of  Illinois,  advancing  north  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  pine  hills,  ponds,  lakes,  marshes  and  prairies  alternate  to  the 
sources  of  that  river.  The  plashy  regions  in  that  quarter  are  covered  with 
thick  wild  rice,  and  there  Providence  has  provided  inexhaustible  pasture 
for  the  countless  numbers  and  varieties  of  wild  water  fowls,  that  migrate 
to  these  regions  to  fatten  in  the  autumn,  before  their  return  to  the  soath. 
Near  Rock  river  of  this  region,  we  come  tipon  the  hills  and  swells  of  Itnd 


i 


I 


n 


%  0 


MIMIMIPPI    VALLDY. 


in  that  extensive  district  called  the  mineral  country,  where  the  ores  of  lead 
are  so  plentifully  found. 

The  surface  of  iIk' country  west  of  tlio  Minsissippi  is  generally  much 
more  level  than  cast  and  Houfli  of  it.     I'licro  arc  blutlH,  often  high  and  pre* 
cipitous,  near  tiio  great  wiilrr  courses.     Not  far  west  of  the  MiHsissippi 
there  is  muci I  country  covi^rcd  with  (lint  knoh.s,  singular  hills  of  conical 
shape,  that  with  u  haao  «)f  a  mile  in  circuinfcrcnci'  often  rise  four  or  five 
hundred  feet  high,  and  anj  covered  on  their  aides  with  fechr,  or  arrow 
stones,  of  a  Hiliceous  substance,  not  uniik(>  Hints,  aiul  used  as  substitutes 
for  them.     There  are,  as  in  the  country  Ix'tween  the  St.  Francis  and  White 
river,  hills  that  might  almost  warrant  the  designation  of  mountains,  appear* 
ing  to  be  continuations  of  the  Alleghanies,  whose  spurs  seem  to  cross  the 
Mississippi  in  the  Chickasaw  blull's,  and  to  be  continued  to  the  west  in 
the  St.  I'rancis  hills.     But  the  general  surface  of  the  country,  between 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Rocky  mountains,  is  comparatively  speakinjj^,  a 
vast  plain,  probably,  as  we  liave  remarked,  the  largest  one  on  the  globe« 
Except  in  the  bluffs  of  the  rivers,  and  on  the  flint  knobs,  it  is,  on  the  sur- 
face free  from  stones,  to  an  astonislung  degree.     The  surface  of  prairie,  a 
hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Mississippi,  is,  probably,  in  comparison  with 
the  timbered  country,  in  the  proportion  of  twenty  to  one.    The  little 
timber,  that  is  seen,  occurs  only  on  the  skirts  of  water  courses.     As  we 
recede  from  the  margins  of  the  Missouri,  the  Platte,  the  Yellowstone, 
Arkansas  and  Red  rivers,  the  prairies  become  more  dry,  sterile,  and  desti- 
tute not  only  of  wood  and  water,  but  of  all  vegetation.     Travellers 
wander  for  days  in  these  desolate  wastes,  without  having  either  wood  or 
water  in  their  horizon,  over  sandy  deserts,  scantily  covered  with  coarse 
grass  and  weeds.     This  is  the  appropriate  range  of  the  buffalo.    In  some 
parts,  there  are  in  fact,  wastes  of  moving  sand,  like  those  of  the  African 
deserts. 

On  the  lower  courses  of  the  Missouri,  St.  Francis,  White,  Arkansas 
and  Red  rivers,  we  see  extensive  alluvions  skirting  their  banks,  of  great 
and  inexhaustible  fertility.  The  alluvial  prairies,  too,  in  these  regions 
teem  with  vegetation.  But  on  their  upper  waters,  as  soon  as  we  have  re* 
ceded  from  a  narrow  and  fertile  belt  on  their  shores,  the  boundless  waste 
of  the  prairies  beyond,  seems  destined  to  be  the  last  resort  of  buffalos,  or 
the  region  of  herds  of  domestic  cattle,  attended  by  migrating  shepherds. 

Mountains.  We  have  seen,  that  the  general  character  of  the  Alle- 
ghany ridges,  is  to  stretch  along  in  continued  and  parallel  lines,  the  central 
ridge  of  which  gives  name  to  the  rest.  The  spurs  of  these  ridges,  which 
in  Kentucky,  and  particularly  in  Tennessee,  under  the  names  of  the  Bald, 
Iron,  Laurel,  Yellow,  Unaka,  Copper,  Clinch,  Powell's,  Cumberland,  &c. 
originate  strMms,  diversify  and  give  grandeur  to  the  scenery  in  these 


m 


'4 

'4 


:S8.»(W».».„.^ 


MOlNTAlNi. 


9S 


>reB  of  lead 

ally  much 
{h  and  pre* 
VliHsisHippi 
of  conical 
our  or  five 
,  or  arrow 
aubstitutet 
and  Whito 
n8,appear> 
)  cross  the 
he  west  in 
y,  between 
peaking,  a 
the  globot 
on  the  sur- 
f  prairie,  a 
irison  with 
The  little 
!S.  As  we 
pllowstone, 
and  desti- 
Travellers 
r  wood  or 
vith  coarse 
In  some 
le  African 

Arkansas 
of  great 
36  regions 
have  re* 
less  waste 
iifTalos,  or 
lepherds. 
the  AUe- 
he  central 
es,  which 
'the  Bald, 
land,  &e. 
in  these 


states,  are  tdl  in  cultivated  nrid  popiiluuti  regions,  ond  will  be  described 
under  th<>  heads  cW'  ll  •>  stuten,  in  which  tlu^y  lie.  Tli(>  clitTs  and  rocks, 
of  which  tliey  »re  comiM^t'd,  hcnr,  as  w«;  hnv(!  remnrktHl,  the  general 
charHt  tcT  of  tratisHion  fonuiition  ;  and  iIk;  stnita  liuvi;  that  lamoUated 
regularity,  !iiul  ihnt  unifunnity  of  dip,  or  incliiuition,  wliich  have  been 
scientifically  dcsrribcd  by  yoolDyislsi.  Thoan  circuinsttinces  are  so 
obvious  and  striking,  us  to  produce  even  in  unobservant  eyta  a  degree 
of  surprise. 

That  immense  range  of  lofty  moiintiiins,  which  gives  rise  to  the  long 
rivers,  that  wind  through  Huch  n  vnst  extent  of  prairies,  and  come  into  the 
Mississippi  on  the  west  side,  in  nbnost  ils  whole  course  runs  wide  from 
the  limits  of  cultivation,  and  thelnunts  of  civilized  man. — Their  forma- 
tion, character,and  height  are  comparatively  but  little  known,  and  present 
descriptions  of  them  must  necessarily  be  vague  and  general.  They  will 
for  ages  only  attract  the  gaze  and  astonishineut  of  wandering  liiinfrrs,  or 
occasionally  a  few  enterprising  travellers,  that  will  scale  their  summits 
on  their  way  to  the  Western  sea.  Now  and  then  a  savage,  difl'erently 
constituted  from  the  rest,  will  pause  on  their  snowy  crags,  be  impressed 
with  their  sublimity,  and  think  of  the  Great  Spirit.  The  rest  will  con- 
tinue to  date  their  eras  from  the  time,  when  they  hunted  on  their  eostem, 
or  western  declivities.  It  will  be  long,  before  the  detached  mountains, 
and  the  prominent  peaks  will  be  named,  classed  and  described.  It  does 
not  appear,  that  many  of  them  rise  above  the  region  of  perpetual  ice. 
Though  from  the  passage  of  Lewis  and  Clark  over  them,  and  the  concur- 
rent testimony  of  others,  in  the  latitude  of  47°  north,  immense  quantities 
of  snow  are  on  their  summits,  between  the  Missouri  and  Columbia,  in 
the  months  of  June  and  July.  They  are  seen,  like  a  vast  rampart, 
rising  from  the  grassy  plains, stretching  from  north  to  south.  Sometimes 
their  aspect  is  that  of  continued  ranges,  of  a  grayish  color,  rising  into  the 
blue  of  the  atmosphere,  above  the  region  of  the  clouds.  A  great  num- 
ber are  black,  ragged  and  precipitous;  and  their  bases  strewn  with 
immense  boulders  and  fragments  of  rock,  detached  by  earthquakes  and 
time.  From  this  iron  bound  and  precipitous  character,  they  probably 
received  the  appellation, '  Rocky  mountains ' 

Whether  any  of  them  are  volcanic,  or  not,  is  not  certainly  known. 
We  have  often  seen  large  masses  of  pumice  stone  floating  on  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  still  oftener  on  the  Missouri.  These  are  generally  of  a  reddish 
yellow,  or  flame  color,  and  are  among  the  largest  and  finest  specimens  of 
this  kind  of  stone,  that  we  have  seen.  Whether  discharged  from  volcanic 
mountains,  or,  as  others  assert,  from  hills  of  burning  coal,  is  not  certainly 
known.  Mica  is  abundantly  carried  along  by  the  waters,  that  flow  from 
these  mountains.    There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  these  ancient  and  mag- 


.% 


34 


MfPSISSirri    VALLEVi 


nificent  piles  are  of  primitive  formation.  They  are  much  higher,  more 
rugged)  and  have  generally  a  more  Alpine  character,  than  the  Allegha- 
nies.  They  apparently  stretch  along  at  about  the  same  distance  from  the 
Western  sea,  as  the  former  from  the  Atlantic.  The  great  rivers,  that  are 
discharged  from  their  eastern  and  western  declivities,  wind  still  further 
between  their  interior  and  exterior  ridges,  in  finding  their  passage 
through  them.  The  Columbia,  or  Oregon  on  the  west,  and  the  Arkansas 
on  the  east,  wind  more  than  an  himdred  leagues,  in  search  of  a  place  of 
escape  from  the  mountains. 

As  on  the  Alleghanies,  the  rivers,  that  run  in  opposite  directions  from 
these  mountains,  generally  have  their  sources  near  each  other.     In  fol- 
lowing the  beds  of  these  rivers  up  to  their  sources  in  the  mountains,  we 
i5nd  the  easiest  paths  and  the  gentlest  acclivities,  by  which  to  cross  them. 
The  character  which  they  had  gained,  of  being  continuous,  high,  and 
every  where  alike  rugged,  and  a  barrier  almost  impassable,  between  the 
regions  east  and  west  of  them,  from  the  descriptions  of  the  first  adventur- 
ers, who  crossed  them,  seems  now  to  have  yielded  to  a  very  different 
impression.    Various  leaders  of  expeditions  of  trappers  have  crossed 
these  mountains,  in  directions  more  southern,  than  those  of  Lewis  and 
Clark.     They  affirm  that   they  found   none  of  those  formidable,  and 
almost  insurmountable  barriers,  which  undoubtedly  exist  on  the  route  of 
those    distinguished  travellers.     We  have  at  this  moment  under  our 
eye  extracts  from  the  journal  of  Mr.  Ashley,  the  leader  of  an  enter- 
prising and  powerful  association  for  procuring  furs,  who  has  crossed 
these  mountains  at  different  points.     This  journal  narrates  the  account 
of  a  passage  over  them,  from  the  sources  of  the  Platte  to  lake  Bueneven- 
tura,  on  the  western  side.    It  asserts,  that  he  found  an  easy  passage 
even  for  loaded  carriages ;  with  an  ascent  no  where  as  sharp,  as  on 
the  national  road  over  the  Cumberland  mountains  to  Wheeling.    He 
even  asserts,  that  the  acclivity  was  so  gentle,  as  no  where  to  have  an 
ascent  of  more  than  three  degrees;  and  that  nature  has  provided  not 
only  a  practicable,  but  a  good  road  quite  tc  the  plains  of  the  Columbia. 
The  testimony  of  travellers  seems  to  be  uniform,  that  to  the  eye,  indeed, 
the  ranges  are  unbroken  and  continuous.     But  nature  appears  every  where 
to  have  indicated  her  wish,  that  no  part  of  the  earth  should  be  interdicted 
by  unsocial  barriers  from  communication  with  the  rest.     Through  the 
loftiest  and  most  continued  ranges  there  are   found  chasms,  natural 
bridges,  ascents  along  the  beds  of  rivers,  and  corresponding  descents  on 
the  opposite  side,  that  render  a  passage  over  them  comparatively  smooth 
and  easy.  ,4 

We  know  not  exactly  on  what  ground  travellers  have  classed  this  vast 
Y9x\^)  into  the  divisions   of  the  Rocky.  Chcpywan.  and  the  Masaerne 


11^' 


'If- 


^ 


m 


•'fifi'. 


v;l.ni!:u.\],  siiri  aci;. 


25 


^her,  more 
e  Allegha- 
ce  from  the 
rs,  that  are 
itill  further 
ir  passage 
B  Arkansas 
'  a  place  of 

;tions  from 
er.     In  fol- 
mtains,  we 
cross  them. 
,  high,  and 
letween  the 
St  adventur- 
sry  different 
ave  crossed 
'  Lewis  and 
lidable,  and 
the  route  of 
t  under  our 
'  an  enter- 
las  crossed 
the  account 
Bueneven- 
asy  passage 
harp,  as  on 
ieling.    He 
to  have  an 
ovided  not 
Columbia. 
lye,  indeed, 
ivery  where 
interdicted 
[hrough  the 
IS,  natural 
[escents  on 
'ely  smooth 

led  this  vast 
Masaerne 


i 


ifurtinlains.     The  ranges  at  the  sources  of  tlic  Arkansas,  and  running 
thence  towards  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  have  so  commonly  borne  the  latter 
name,  that  they  will  probably  retain  it.     A  single  peak  of  this  ridge, 
seen  as  a  landmark  for  immense  distances  over  the  subjacent  plains,  has 
been  called,  and  we  think,  ought  for  ever  to  retain  the  name  of  mount 
Pike.    It  is  of  incomparable  grandeur  in  appearance,  and  has  been  dif- 
ferently rated  at  from  seven  to  ten  thousand  feet  in  height.    On  the 
ddges  of  this  range  the  Colorado  of  the  Pacific,  the  Rio  del  Norte 
of  New  Mexico,  the  Roche-jaune,  or  Yellowstone,  of  the  Missouri,  and 
tlic  Arkansas  and  Red  rivers  of  tlie  Mississippi,  that  have  their  outlets 
at  such  immense  distances  from  each  other,  have  their  sources.     It  will 
hence  be  easily  inferred,  tliat  this  is  the  highest  land  of  this  part  of  North 
America. 

Geographers  have  supposed,  that  it  is  a  circumstance  of  course,  that 
between  all  rivers,  that  have  any  length  of  course,  there  are  ranges  of 
hills,  more  or  less  elevated,  separating  the  tributary  waters  of  the  one 
river  from  the  other.  It  is  often,  but  by  no  means  always  so,  in  this 
valley.  Many  of  the  large  rvers  have  no  other  separating  ridge,  than  a 
high  and  marshy  plain,  tiiat  discharges,  as  has  been  remarked,  its  waters 
from  one  extremity  into  the  one  river,  and  from  the  other  extremity  into 
the  other.  But,  as  a  general  rule,  in  the  medial  regions  of  this  valley, 
the  considerable  rivers  are  separated  from  each  other  by  ranges  of  hills, 
more  or  less  distinctly  marked.  In  this  region  of  plains,  where  a  person 
may  have  been  bom,  and  travelled  to  New  Orleans,  and  lived  to  old 
age  without  ever  seeing  an  elevation,  that  deserved  the  name  of  mountain, 
these  hills  become  respectable  by  comparison.  These  ranges  of  hills 
are  most  considerable  in  the  mineral  country  in  Missouri,  between  St. 
Francis  and  White  river,  in  Arkansas  territory,  between  Washita  and 
Red  river,  and  between  the  latter  river  and  the  Sabine.  South  and  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  there  are  considerable  ridges  of  this  character  in  the 
states  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama.  These  ranges  of  hills  will  be  more 
properly  noticed,  under  the  description  of  the  states  and  territories,  where 
they  respectively  occur. 

The  general  surface  of  this  valley  may  be  classed  under  three  distinct 
aspects;  the  thickly  timbered,  the  barrens,  and  the  prairie  country.  In 
the  first  division,  every  traveller  has  remarked  as  soon  as  he  descends  to 
this  valley,  a  grandeur  in  the  form  and  size  of  the  trees,  a  depth  of  verdure 
in  the  foliage,  a  magnificent  prodigality  of  growth  of  every  sort,  that 
distinguishes  this  country  from  other  regions.  The  trees  are  large,  tall, 
and  rise  aloft,  like  columns,  free  from  branches.  In  the  rich  lands  they 
are  generally  wreathed  with  a  drapery  of  ivy,  bignonia,  grape  vines,  or 

4 


26 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


I  i 


other  creepers.  Intermingled  with  the  foliage  of  the  trees  are  the  broad 
leaves  of  the  grape  vines,  with  trunks,  sometimes  as  large  as  the  human 
body. — Frequently  these  forests  are  as  free  from  undergrowth,  as  an 
orchard.  Sometimes  the  only  shrub,  that  is  seen  among  the  trees,  is  the 
pavepaw,  with  its  splendid  foliage  and  graceful  stems.  In  other  places, 
especially  in  the  richer  alluvions  of  the  south,  beneath  the  trees,  there  are 
impenetrable  cane  brakes  and  tangle  of  brambles,  briar  vines,  and  every 
sort  of  weeds.  These  are  the  safe  retreats  of  bears  and  panthers.  This 
undergrowth  universally  indicates  a  rich  soil 

The  country  denominated  'barrens,'  has  a  very  distinct  and  peculiar 
configuration.  It  is  generally  a  country  with  a  surface,  undulating  with 
gentle  hills,  of  a  particular  form.  They  are  long  and  uniform  ridges* 
The  soil  is  for  the  most  part  of  a  clayey  texture,  of  a  reddish  or  grayish 
color,  and  is  covered  with  a  tall  coarse  grass.  In  addition  to  a  peculiar' 
ity  of  feature,  more  easily  felt,  than  described,  the  trees  are  generally  very 
sparse,  seldom  large,  or  very  small.  They  are  chiefly  of  the  different 
kinds  of  oaks;  and  the  barren  trees  have  an  appearance  and  configuration, 
appropriate  to  the  soil  they  inhabit.  The  land  never  exceeds  second 
rate  in  quality,  and  is  more  generally  third  rate.  It  is  favorable,  in  the 
proper  latitudes,  to  the  growth  of  wheat  and  orchards.  On  the  whole, 
this  country  has  an  aspect  so  peculiar  and  appropriate,  that  no  person, 
at  all  used  to  this  country,  is  in  doubt  for  a  moment,  when  he  enters  oa 
the  region  of  the  barrens.  There  are  large  districts  of  this  kind  of 
country  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Alabama.  They  are  common  in 
Illinois  and  Missouri,  and  are  seen  with  more  or  less  frequency,  over  aB 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  this  region,  and  in  the  hazle  or  bushy  prairies,  we  most  trequenilf 
see  those  singular  cavities,  called  *  sink  holes.'  They  are  generally  in 
the  shape  of  funnels,  or  inverted  cones,  from  ten  to  seventy  feet  in 
depth,  and  on  the  surface  from  sixty  to  three  hundred  feet  in  circumfe- 
rence. There  are  generally  willows,  and  other  aquatic  vegetation,  at 
their  sides  and  bottoms.  The  people  here  have  their  own  theories,  to 
account  for  these  singular  cavities;  and  as  an  earthquake  is  the  agent 
most  likely  to  seize  on  the  imagination,  and  the  most  convenient  one  to 
solve  inexplicable  results,  they  have  generally  supposed  them  the  work 
of  earthquakes.  Others  have  imagined  them  the  huge  wells,  from  tdricb 
the  domesticated  mammoths,  and  the  gigantic  races  of  past  generations 
quenched  their  thirst.  There  is  little  doubt,  that  they  are  caused  by 
running  waters,  which  find  their  way  in  the  lime  stone  cavities,  beneatb 
the  upper  stratum  of  soiL  We  shall  see  elsewhere,  that  this  stratum 
generally  rests  on  a  base  of  lime  stone;  and  that  between  this  and  the 
8ulMitrata>  there  are  often  continuous  cavities,  asr  we  see  in  the  lioie 


I' 


^v« 


OBNERAL  SURFACE. 


2? 


arc  the  broad 
as  the  human 
rowth,  as  an 
B  trees,  is  the 
other  places, 
ees,  there  are 
les,  and  every 
nthers.    Thi» 

t  and  peculiar 
idulating  with 
niform  ridges, 
lish  or  grayish 
I  to  a  peculiar- 
generally  very 
.f  the  different 
configuration, 
cceeds  second 
ivorable,  in  the 
On  the  whole, 
lat  no  person, 
m  he  enters  oa 
»f  this  kind  of 
re  conunon  in 
uency,  over  aR 

lost  frequently 
e  generally  in 
eventy  feet  in 
}t  in  circumfe* 
vegetation,  at 
m  theories,  to 
:e  is  the  agent 
ivenient  one  to 
Ithcm  the  work 
|ls,  from  which 
generations 
are  caused  by 
ities,  beneath 
this  stratum 
this  and  the 
inthelime 


•tone  caverns;  and  that  in  these  interstices  between  the  different  strata 
of  rocks,  brooks,  and  even  considerable  streams  pursue  uninterrupted 
courses  under  ground.  The  cause  of  these  sink  holes  was  probably  a 
fissure  in  the  super-stratum  of  lime  stone.  The  friable  soil  above  found 
its  way  through  this  fissure,  and  was  washed  away  by  the  running 
waters  beneath.  In  this  manner  a  funnel  shaped  cavity  would  naturally 
be  formed.  In  fact,  the  ear  often  distinguishes  the  sound  of  waters  run* 
ning  beneath,  at  the  bottom  of  these  sink  holes. 

The  remaining,  and  by  far  the  most  extensive  surface,  is  that  of  the 
prairies.  Although  they  have  no  inconsiderable  diversity  of  aspect,  they 
may  be  classed  under  three  general  divisions;  the  healthy,  or  bushy,  the 
alluvial,  or  wet,  and  the  dry  prairies.  The  healthy  prairies  seem  to  be 
of  an  intermediate  character  between  the  alluvial  prairies  and  the 
barrens.  They  have  springs  covered  with  hazle  and  furzy  bushes,  small 
sassafras  shrubs,  with  frequent  grape  vines,  and  in  the  summer  with  an 
infinite  profusion  of  flowers,  and  the  bushes  are  often  overtopped  with 
the  common  hop  vine.  Prairies  of  this  description  are  very  common  in 
Indiana,  Illinois  and  Missouri,  and  they  alternate  among  the  other 
prairies  for  a  considerable  distance  towards  the  Rocky  mountains. 

The  dry  prairies  are  for  the  most  part  destitute  of  springs,  and  of  all 
vegetation,  but  weeds,  flowering  plants,  and  grass.  To  the  eye  they  are 
so  nearly  level,  and  the  roundings  of  their  undulations,  so  gentle,  that 
the  eye,  taking  in  a  great  surface  at  a  single  view,  deems  them  a  dead 
level.  But  the  ravines,  made  by  the  water  courses  through  them, 
sufficiently  indicate,  that  their  swells  and  declinations  communicate  a 
quick  motion  to  the  waters,  that  fall  on  them.  This  is  by  far  the  most 
extensive  class  of  prairies.  These  are  the  plains,  over  which  the  buffalos 
range.  These  are  the  plains,  without  wood  or  water,  in  which  the  trav- 
eller may  wander  for  days,  and  see  the  horizon  on  every  side  sinking  to 
contact  with  the  grass. 

The  alluvia],  or  wet  prairies  form  the  last  and  smallest  division.  They 
generally  occur  on  the  margins  of  the  great  water  courses,  although 
they  are  often  found,  with  all  their  distinctive  features,  far  from  the 
point,  where  waters  now  run.  They  are  generally  basins,  as  regards  the 
adjacent  regions,  and  their  outlines  are  marked  by  regular  benches. 
They  are  for  the  most  part  of  a  black,  deep,  and  very  friable  soil,  and  of 
exhaustless  fertility.  In  the  proper  latitudes,  they  are  the  best  soils  for 
wheat  and  maize ;  but  are  ordinarily  too  tender  and  loamy  for  the  culti- 
vated grasses.  They  rear  their  own  native  grasses,  of  astonishing 
height  and  luxuriance.  An  exact  account  of  the  size  and  rankness  of 
the  weeds,  flowering  plants  and  grass  on  the  richer  alluvial  prairies  of 
Illinois  and  Missouri,  would  seem  to  those,  who  have  not  seen  them,  an 


/V* 


98 


MlftSISSirn    VAM.EV. 


* 


iil 


idle  exaggerafion.     Still  more  than  Uio  rolling  prairies,  tlicy  impress  the 
eye  as  a  dead  level;  hut  they  still  have  their  slight  inclinations  towards 
their  benches,  where  their  waters  are  arrested,  and  carried  off.    But, 
firom  their  immense  amount  of  vegetation,  and  from  the  levelness  of  their 
surface,  wherever  they  are  considerably  extensive,  they  have  small  ponds, 
plashes  and  bayous,  which  fill  from  the  rivers,  and  from  rains,  and  are 
only  drained,   during  the   intense  heats  of  summer,  by  evaporation. 
These  ponds  in  the  alluvial  prairies,  that  are  connected  with  the  rivers, 
when  they  overflow  by  bayous  are  filled,  in  the  season  of  high  waters, 
with  fish  of  the  various  kinds.     As  the  waters  subside,  and  their  connec- 
ting courses  with  the  river  become  dry,  the  fish  are  taken  by  cart  loads 
among  the  tall  grass,  where  the  water  is  three  or  four  feet  deep.    When 
the  waters  evaporate.,  during  the  heats  of  summer,   the  fish  die;  and 
although  thousands  of  buzzards  prey  upon  them,  they  become  a  source 
of  pollution  to  the  atmosplierc. — Hence  these  prairies,  beautiful  as  they 
seem  to  the  eye,  and  extraordinary  as  is  their  fertility,  are  very  unfavor- 
able positions,  in  point  of  salubrity.     Flocks  of  deer  are  seen  scouring 
across  these  rich  plains,  or  feeding  peaceably  with  the  domestic  cattle. 
In  the  spring  and  autumn,  innumerable  flocks  of  water  fowls  are  seen 
wheeling  their  flight  about  the  lakes  and  ponds  of  these  prairies.    They 
find  copious  pasture  in  the  oily  seeds  of  the  plants  and  grasses,  that 
have  seeded  during  the  summer. 

During  the  months  of  vegetation,  no  adequate  idea  could  be  conveyed 
by  description  of  the  number,  forms,  varieties,  scents  and  hues  of  the 
flowering  plants,  and  the  various  flowers  of  the  richer  prairies.  In  the 
barrens  are  four  or  five  varieties  of  "  ladies  slippers,'  of  different  and 
the  most  splendid  colors.  The  violets,  and  the  humbler  and  more  mod- 
est kinds  of  garden  flowers,  are  not  capable  of  competing  with  the  rank 
growth  of  grass  and  weeds,  that  choke  them  on  the  surface.  Some  of  the 
taller  and  hardier  kinds  of  the  liliaceous  plants  struggle  for  display,  and 
rear  themselves  high  enough  to  be  seen.  Most  of  the  prairie  flowers 
have  tall  and  arrowy  stems,  and  spiked  or  tassellated  heads,  and  the 
flowers  have  great  size,  gaudincss  and  splendor,  without  much  fragrance 
or  delicacy.  The  most  striking  of  these  flowers  we  shall  attempt  to 
class  and  describe,  in  another  place;  only  remarking  here,  that  during 
the  summer,  the  prairies  present  distinct  successions  of  dominant  hues, 
as  the  season  advances.  The  prevalent  color  of  the  prairie  flowers  in 
spring  is  blueish  purple;  in  midsummer  red,  with  a  considerable  propor- 
tion of  yellow.  In  autumn  the  flowers  are  very  large,  many  of  them  of 
the  helianthu^  (orm,  and"  the 'prairie  receives  from  them  such  a  splendid 
coloring  of  yellow,  as  almost  to  present  to  the  imagination  an  immense 
surface  of  gilding. 


MINKnAT.S. 


S9 


y  impress  the 
tions  towards 
•d  off.  But, 
;lness  of  their 
I  small  pondSr 
lins,  and  are 

evaporation, 
ith  the  rivers, 

high  waters, 
their  connec- 
)y  cart  loads 
deep.  When 
ish  die;  and 
omc  a  source 
utiful  as  they 
very  unfavor- 
een  scouring 
[nestic  cattle, 
wis  are  seen 
airies.    They 

grasses,  that 

be  conveyed 

hues  of  the 

ries.    In  the 

different  and 

id  more  mod- 

with  the  rank 

Some  of  the 

display,  and 

rairie  flowers 

ids,  and  the 

ich  fragrance 

1  attempt  to 

that  during 

ninant  hues, 

ie  flowers  in 

rable  propor- 

ny  of  them  of 

h  a  splendid 

an  immense 


MiNnRAW.     There  are  diffused  in  tlic  different  jiositiona  oftliis  valley 
thecoTiimon  proportions  of  minerals,  oxides,  neutral  salts,  fossils,  and  the 
different  kinds  of  earths.    Salt  springs,  as  we  shall  have  occasion  elsewhere 
to  remark,  arc  found  in  a  thousand  places,  in  all  proportions  of  saline 
impregnations,  from  water,  that  is  merely  brackish,  to  that,  which  is  much 
Salter  than  sea  water.     It  is  obvious  to  remark,  the  wise  and  benevolent 
provision    of  Providence  for  the  j)opulation  of  the  country,  in   thug 
providing,  at  such  distances  from  the  sea,  an  article  so  essential  and 
indispensable  to  the  comfort  and  subsistence  of  civilized  man.     Hence  it 
results,  that  there  is  no  point  in  this  valley,  far  removed  from  the  means  of 
an  easy  and  cheap  supply  of  this  necessary  article.     The  cattle  have  dis- 
covered this  impregnation  in  innumerable  licks.    It  is  found  in  form  like  a 
hoar  frost,  in '  Salt  prairie,'  between  the  Osage  and  the  Arkansas,     Arkan- 
sas and  Red  river  are  at  times  perceptibly  brackish,  from  the  quality  of 
salt  in  solution  in  the  water.     Nitre  is  found  almost  pure,  and  is  lixiviated 
from  tlie  earths  in  the  lime  stone  caves,  that  fibound  in  various  places. 
Muriate  of  magnesia,  or  Epsom  salts,  is  found  in  caves  in  Indiana. 
Sulphates  of  iron  and  alumine  are  found  in  greater  proportions,  than  in 
most  countries;  and  coperas  and  alum  might  be  among  the  manufactures 
of  this  region.     Carbonate  of  lime  abounds,  as  we  have  seen,  every 
where.     Sulphate  of  lime,  or  gypsum,  is  found  in  various  places.     We 
have  seen  most  beautiful  specimens,  striated  with  needles  in  stars,  and 
when  pulverized  and  prepared,  of  a  snowy  whiteness, — said  to  have  been 
brought  from  the   Kansas   of  the  Missouri.    Quarries  of  gypsum  are 
afiirmed  to  exist  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  in  Tennessee, 
and  in  various  other  places.     That  call  for  the   use  of  this  material, 
which  would  alone   lead  to  adequate  search  for   it,  has  not  yet  been 
heard.     It  has  not  been  required,  or  used  in  building,  or  the  arts  ;  and 
such  is  the  universal  fertility  of  the  soil,  that  it  will  be  long,  before  it  will 
be  sought  after,  as  a  manure.     But  that  time  will  come,  and  then,  in  this 
region  of  secondary  formation,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  asufliciency 
of  this  article  will  be  discovered  for  all  the  necessities  of  the  country. 

On  tlie  waters  of  the  Little  Sioux  of  the  Missouri,  and  on  a  branch  of 
the  St.  Peters  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  is  found  a  beautiful  species  of 
indurated  clay, — constituting  a  stone  of  the  most  singular  appearance, 
commonly  called  '  pipe  stone,'  from  the  circumstance,  that  the  savages 
in  all  these  regions,  quite  to  the  western  sea,  make  their  pipes,  and  some- 
times their  other  ornaments,  of  it.  It  is  said  to  be  cut  from  the  quarry, 
almost  with  the  ease  of  wood.  It  hardens  in  the  air,  and  receives  an 
exquisite  polish  of  impalpable  smoothness.  It  is  nearly  of  the  color  of 
blood;  and  is  a  beautiful  article  for  monumental  slabs,  vases  and  require- 
ments of  that  sort.     If  it  be  as  abundant,  and  Jis  easily  procured,  as  has 


4i 


^' 


UI8SI08IPPI    VALLEY. 


h 

1.   ^ 


i 


-1^.; 


K 


'         iiil 

i.    it 


1 1. 

1 


-t* 


.  been  said,  it  will  one  day  become  on  article  of  extensive  use  tlirough  the 
country.  For  althougii  marble  abounds,  tliis  is  a  more  beautiful  material^ 
than  any  marble  that  we  have  seen.  It  has  been  generally  asserted, 
that  an  imaginary  line  of  truce  extends  round  the  places,  where  this 
■tone  is  found,  within  which  the  most  hostile  tribes  pursue  their  business 
of  cutting  out  stones  for  pipes  in  peace. 

We  have  seen  frequent  specimens  of  ores,  said  to  be  ores  of  cinabar. 
There  arc,  unquestionably,  abundant  ores  of  copper  and  zinc.    Copper,  it 
is  known,  is  not  found  so  abundantly  on  the  shores  of  lake  Superior,  as  it 
was  anticipated  it  would  be,     A  vast  number  of  specimens  of  copper  ore 
are  found  in  different  points  in  this  valley.     Specimens  of  pure  and  mal- 
leable copper  have  been  shown  to  us;  one  of  which,  said  to  have  been  found 
in  Illinois,  thirty  miles  east  of  St.  Louis,  weighed  three  pounds.     There  is 
a  river  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  forty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
souri, called  by  the  French, '  Cuivre,'  or  Copper  river,  from  the  supposed 
mines  of  copper  on  its  banks.     Ores  of  copper  have  been  fo"nfl  at  ditferent 
points  on  the  Illinois.     Considerable  quantities  are  smelted  at  Galena, 
dug  with  the  ores  of  lead.     Iron  ore  is  abundant  in  too  many  places  to  be 
«)  named.    Ores  of  antimony  and  manganese  are  occasionally  seen ;  but  the 
progress  of  the  arts,  and  tlie  circumstances  of  the  country  not  having 
called  for  these  articles,  little  note  has  been  taken  of  the  discoveries. 
Hunters  and  travellers  have  asserted,  that  gold  dust  is  brought  down  to  the 
Missouri  by  its  upper  waters,  and  has  been  seen  on  the  sand  bars  at  low 
water.    Whether  it  be  so,  or  whether  the  shining  particles,  which  they 
undoubtedly  saw,  were  only  of  mica  or  talc,  is  not  known.    On  the  ranges 
of  the  Rocky  mountains,  continued  in  Mexico,  it  is  well  known  the  pre- 
cious metals  abound.    A  great  many  mines  of  silver  are  wrought  on  the 
western  spurs  of  the  Masserne  mountains,  near  Santa  Fe.  It  is  natural  to 
infer,  thai  the  same  ranges,  when  thoroughly  explored  on  the  eastern  side, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  sources  of  the  Yellowtone,  Platte,  Arkansas  and  Red 
rivers,  will  be  also  found  to  have  their  mines  of  silver  and  gold.    It  is 
at  present  asserted,  that  a  silver  mine  has  been  recently  discovered  iu 
,  Indiana. 

1  The  only  mines,  that  are  yet  wrought  in  this  country,  to  any  extent  are 
those  of  iron  and  lead.  Near  Pittsburgh  and  on  the  Monongahela,  in 
Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and  Missouri,  are  manufactories  of  iron  from 
native  ores  which  we  shall  notice,  whe  ;  ^vv^  ^peak  of  those  states.  Lead 
ore  is  found  in  different  points  of  this  valley  with  more  ease,  and  in  greater 
abundance,  perhaps,  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The  particular 
sections  of  country,  where  these  ores  are  dug  in  greatest  abundance,  are 
in  the  county  of  Washington  in  Missouri,  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  on  the  waters  of  Big  Creek,  a  river  of  the  Maramec; 


CLIMATU. 


81 


C  tlirough  the 
tiful  material, 
[illy  asserted, 
s,  where  this 
:heir  business 


3  of  cinabar. 
.  Copper,  it 
luperior,  as  it 
of copper ore 
)ure  and  mal- 
'e  been  found 
is.  There  is 
li  of  the  Mis- 
the  supposed 
id  at  different 
d  at  Galena, 
r  places  to  be 
seen;  but  the 
)r  not  having 
discoveries. 
[  down  to  the 
1  bars  at  low 
,  which  they 
'n  the  ranges 
)wn  thepre- 
aught  on  the 
IS  natural  to 
sastem  side, 
isas  and  Red 
gold.  It  is 
iscovered  ia 

ly  extent  are 
>ngahela,  in 
of  iron  from 
ites.  Lead 
id  in  greater 
le  particular 
indance,  are 
r  miles  west 
)  Maramec; 


*»"■»■ 


nnd  near  Rock  river,  at  Dubuquo^s  mines,  in  the  state  of  Illinois;  and  at 
Riviere  du  feve,  improperly  ca]l«;d  Fever  river,  upon  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi. We  shall  naturally  speak  of  the  mincH,  when  we  treat  of  the 
states,  in  which  they  arc  found. 

CiraATE.    In  a  country  of  such  immense  extent,  the  climate  must 
necessarily  be  various.     We  must,  of  course,  be  brief  on  so  copious  a 
head.    Between  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  there  is  every  variety  of  temperature,  from  that  of  the 
Arctic  regions,  to  that,  where  flourish  the  olive  and  the  sugar  cane.    We 
may,  perhaps,  obtain  conceptions  of  some  exactness,  by  inspecting  ouf 
thermometrical  tables  of  the  temperature  at  diftcrent  points  of  the  valley. 
We  have  resided  throjjgh  the  season  in  the  northern,  middle  and  southern 
regions  of  it.    We  are  confident,  as  a  general  fact,  that  the  climate  more 
exactly  and  uniformly  corresponds  to  the  latitude,  than  that  of  any  other 
country.     The  amount  of  heat  and  cold,  or  the  mean  temperature  through 
the  year,  is  greater  or  less,  at  any  place,  according  as  its  position  is  more 
or  less  to  the  south.    In  ascending  the  Mississippi  from  New  Orleans  to 
to  St.  Louis,  or  Cincinnati,  in  the  spring,  we  take  a  direction  generally 
north.    One  of  the  swifter  steam  boats  will  considerably  out'travel  the 
progress  of  spring ;  and  from  the  region,  where  the  foliage  of  the  trees,  and 
vegetation  generally  have  unfolded  into  all  their  verdure,  we  find  the 
foliage  on  the  banks  of  the  river  gradiftlly  diminishing,  as  we  ascerdj 
and  after  we  pass  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  we  shall  perhaps,  see  the  buds 
on  the  trees  but  just  beginning  to  swell.    In  descending  the  same  river 
in  the  autumn,  we  observe  this  influence  of  the  climate  reversed  in  a 
most  impressive  manner.     At  Pittsburgh  the  trees  are  stripped  of  theif 
leaves  by  frost.     At  Cincinnati  nature  is  laying  on  the  last  mellow 
colors  of  autumn,  and  the  leaves  are  beginning  to  fall.    At  Natchez  the 
forests  are  still  in  the  verdure  of  summer.    We  have  noted  this  beauti- 
fully graduated  and  inverted  scale  of  the  seasons,  more  than  once,  in 
ascending  and  descending  these  rivers. 

It  is  very  obvious,  why  climate  in  this  valley  should  so  accurately  cor- 
respond  to  latitude.  It  is  an  immense  basin,  spreading  from  north  to 
south.  Tliere  are  no  ranges  of  mountains,  spread  across  the  valley  in  an 
eastern  and  western  direction,  to  change  the  current  or  temperature  of 
the  winds,  or  to  give  a  material  difference  of  temperature  to  places,  situ- 
ated in  the  same  latitude.  Hence  it  is,  that  in  traversing  the  country  from 
south  to  north,  we  discover  the  diminution  of  temperature,  •  ;  marked 
by  that  sensible  and  unerring  thermometer,  the  vegetable  creation,  very 
accurately  indicating  the  latitude  of  the  place. 


32 


Mi»;assirri  valm:y. 


y  : 


Mr.  Jefferson  his  supjioscd,  tlmt  in  this  valley  tl»e  Icii^raturo  i« 
higher,  than  in  the  same  parallels  in  the  Atlantic  country.  Dr.  Drako 
and  others  Jiave  successfully  combated  this  idea.  Mr.  Jefferson  asserts, 
that  the  reed  cane,  mycijia  macrosperma,  and  paroquets,  are  seen  fartlier 
north  on  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  than  on  the  Atlantic  shore.  If  it 
be  so,  the  inference,  drawn  from  these  facts,  might  easily  1)0  shown  to  1)0 
erroneous,  by  showing,  that  their  locality  along  these  streams  is  fixed  by 
other  circumstances,  than  temperature.  On  the  Tennessee,  the  cane, 
finding  a  congenial  soil,  and  circumstances,  on  the  banks  of  a  river  run- 
ning from  south  to  north,  will  spread  its  seeds  along  those  banks  to  a 
point  more  northern,  than  its  native  residence.  The  immense  numbers 
of  paroquets,  that  are  seen  on  tlio  lower  courses  of  the  Mississippi,  will 
naturally  push  their  colonies  far  to  the  north  on  that  river,  where  they 
still  find  all  circumstances,  but  temperature,  the  same ;  where  there  are 
old,  large  and  hollow  sycamore  trees,  the  favorite  haunts  of  tliis  brilliant 
bird,  furnishing  it  at  once  food,  shelter  and  a  hottie. 

These  regions,  sheltered  from  the  damp  and  cold  northeastern  gales  of 
the  Atlantic  shores  in  the  spring,  will  probably  have  that  season  milder 
and  mor6  forward,  than  in  the  corresponding  latitudes  of  the  Atlantic. 
But  in  such  a  vast  basin,  inclining  from  north  to  south,  and  permeated 
in  its  whole  extent  by  such  a  river,  as  the  Mssissippi,  an  atmosphere  of 
the  cold  air  of  the  elevated  regions  qf  the  table  lands  at  its  sources  will 
naturally  be  set  in  motion  at  tim^  by  atmospheric  changes,  and  be  pro- 
pelled towards  the  south.  The  colder  air  will  often  rush  down  to 
supply  the  vacuum,  made  by  the  rarefaction  of  southern  temperaturov 
Hence  north  and  south  winds, — in  other  words,  winds  up  and  down  this 
valley,  frequently  alternate,  and,  together  with  their  collateral  winds,  the 
northeast  and  southwest,  are  the  prevailing  winds  felt  in  the  valley. 
Southern  and  southwestern  gales  predominate  in  the  summer,  and  north- 
em  and  western  in  winter.  Hence  the  winter  is  much  more  changeablcj 
than  that  of  the  Atlantic  countiy,  frequently  softening  even  in  its  north- 
ern parts,  from  weather,  in  which  the  mercury  stands  below  zero,  to 
weather  of  such  mildness,  as  to  invite  people  to  sit  at  the  open  windows 
in  January  and  February. 

In  the  niedial  regions  of  this  country  the  winter  commences  about 
Christmas.  The  severest  weather  is  ordinarily  between  that  time  and 
the  second  week  in  February.  The  common  snows  are  from  two  to 
eight  inches  deep,  and  they  seldom  lie  many  days.  We  have,  however, 
seen  the  snow  at  New  Madrid,  near  36°  north,  lie  more  than  a  fortnight. 
Nortii  of  this  mean  region,  as  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  on  the  upper  Mississippi, 
and  the  Council  Bluffs,  on  the  Missouri,  that  is  to  say,  not  far  from  the 
climate  of  New  York  ajid  Albany,  the  snow  does  not  fall  as  deep,  as  at 


I.  "Ji 


1 


ft 


. .; 


CLIMATE. 


S3 


ii^Kraturo  id 
Dr.  Drako 
rson  asserts, 
seen  farther 
shore.  If  it 
shown  to  Ik) 
IS  is  fixed  by 
c,  the  cane, 
'  a  river  run- 
3  banks  to  a 
nse  numbers 
sissippi,  will 
,  where  they 
sre  there  are 
tliis  brilliant 

em  gales  of 
ason  milder 
he  Atlantic. 
I  permeated 
mosphere  of 
sources  will 
and  be  pro^ 
sh  down  to 
emperature* 
1  down  this 
1  winds,  the 

the  valley. 

and  north* 
changeable, 
its  north- 
)w  zero,  to 
in  windows 

nces  about 
it  time  and 
om  two  to 
however, 
fortnight. 
Mississippi, 
ir  from  the 
deep,  as  at 


those  places  or  lie  so  long.    The  cold  sometimes  is  severe,  but  of\ener 
intermits,  and  is  followed  by  mild,  and  even  warm  days. 

We  may  class  four  distinct  climates,  between  the  sources  and  the 
outlet  of  the  Mississippi.  The  first,  commencing  at  its  sources,  and  ter- 
minating at  Prairie  du  Chien,  corresponds  pretty  accurately  to  the 
climate  between  Montreal  and  Boston;  with  this  dificrenco,  that  the 
amount  of  snow  falling  in  the  former  is  much  less,  than  in  the  latter 
region.  The  mean  temperature  of  a  year  would  be  something  higher  on 
tlie  Mississippi.  The  vegetables  raised,  the  time  of  planting,  and  the 
modes  of  cultivating  them,  would,  probably,  be  nearly  the  same.  Vtege- 
tation  will  have  nearly  the  same  progress  and  periodical  changes.  The 
growing  of  gourd  seed  com,  which  demands  an  increase  of  temperature 
over  that  requisite  for  the  com  of  the  northern  states  to  bring  it  to  matu- 
rity, is  not  planted  in  this  region.^  The  Irish  potatoe  is  raised  in  this 
climate  in  the  utmost  perfection.  Wheat  and  cultivated  grasses  succeed 
well.  The  apple  and  the  pear  tree  require  fostering,  and  southern  expos- 
ure to  bring  fruit  in  perfection.  The  peach  tree  has  still  more  the  habits 
and  the  fragile  delicacy  of  a  southern  stranger,  and  requires  a  sheltered 
declivity,  with  a  southern  exposure,  to  succeed  at  all.  Five  months  in  the 
year  may  be  said  to  belong  to  the  dominion  of  winter.  For  that  length  of 
time  the  cattle  require  shelter  in  the  severe  weather,  and  the  still  waters 
remain  frozen. 

The  next  climate  includes  the  opposite  states  of  Missouri  and  Illinois, 
in  their  whole  extent,  or  the  country  between  41°  and  37°.  Cattle, 
though  much  benefitted  by  sheltering,  and  often  needing  it,  seldom  receive 
it.  It  is  not  so  favorable  for  cultivated  grasses,  as  the  preceding  region. 
Gourd  seed  corn  is  the  only  kind  extensively  planted.  The  winter  com- 
mences with  January,  and  ends  with  the  second  week  in  Febmary.  The 
ice,  in  the  still  waters,  after  that  time  thaws.  Wheat,  the  inhabitant  of  a 
variety  of  climates,  is  at  home,  as  a  native,  in  this.  The  persimon  and 
the  pawpaw  are  found  in  its  whole  extent.  It  is  the  favored  region  of  the 
apple,  the  pear  and  the  peach  tree.  Snows  neither  fall  deep,  nor  lie  long. 
The  Irish  potatoe  succeeds  to  a  certain  extent,  but  not  as  well,  as  in 
the  former  climate;  but  this  disadvantage  is  supplied  by  the  sweet  potatoe, 
which  though  not  at  home  in  this  climate,  with  a  little  care  in  the  culti- 
vation, flourishes.  The  increased  ten)perature  of  March  and  April,  and 
the  subsequent  grandeur  of  vegetation  indicate  an  approach  towards  a 
southern  climate. 

The  next  climate  extends  from  37°  to  31.  Below  35°,  in  the  rich  allu- 
vial soils,  the  apple  tree  begins  to  fail  in  bringing  its  fmit  to  perfection. 
We  have  never  tasted  apples  worth  eating,  raised  much  below  New  Mad- 
rid.   Cotton,  between  this  point  and  33°,' is  raised,  in  favorable  positions, 

5 


i  I 
1 


■3i^.- 


34 


MifiSTssipn  VAT.r.rv. 


<  (  ' 


for  home  consumption;  but  is  seldom  lo  b<;  ileixjnikil  upon  for  n  crop. 
Below  33°  commences  the  proper  climate  for  cotton,  nnd  it  is  the  staple 
nrticle  of  cultivation.  Festoons  of  long  moss  lianrr  from  the  trees,  and 
darken  the  forests.  The  palmetto  ^ives  to  the  low  alluvial  grounds  a 
grand  and  striking  verdure.  The  muscadine  grape,  strongly  designating 
climate,  is  first  found  here. — Laurel  trees  become  common  in  the  forest, 
retaining  their  foliage  and  their  verdure  through  the  winter.  Wheat  is  no 
longer  seen,  as  an  article  of  cultivation.  The  fig  tree  brings  its  fruit  to 
full  maturity. 

Below  this  climate,  to  the  gulf,  is  the  region  of  the  sugar  cane  and  the 
sweet  orange  tree.     It  would  be,  if  it  were  cultivated,  the  region  of  the 
olive.     Snow  is  no  longer  seen  to  fall,  except  a  few  flakes  in  the  coldest 
Btorms.    The  streams  are  never  frozen.     Winter  is  only  marked  by  nights 
of  white  frosts,  and  days  of  northwest  winds,  which  seldom  last  longer 
than  three  days  in  succession,  and  are  •")llowcd  by  south  winds  and  warm 
days.     The  trees  are  generally  in  leai  1  y  the  middle  of  February,  and 
always  by  the  first  of  March.     Bats  am  hovering  in  the  air  during  the 
night.     Fireflies  are  seen  by  the  middle  of  February.     Early  in  March 
the  forests  are  in  blossom.     The  delightful  white  flowers  of  the  cornus 
Jlorida,  and  the  brilliant  red  tufts  of  the  Redbud,  or  cercis  canadensis^ 
are  unfolded.     The  margins  of  the  creeks  and  streams  are  perfumed 
with  the  meadow  pink,  or  honeysuckle,  yellow  jessamine,  and  other  fra- 
grant flowers.      During  almost  every  night  a  thunder  storm   occurs. 
Cotton  and  corn  are  planted  from  March  to  July.     In  these  regions  the 
summers  are  uniformly  hot,  although  there  are  days,  when  the  mercury 
rises  as  high  in  New  England,  as  in  Louisiana.     The  heat,  however, 
is  more  uniform  and  sustained,  commences  much  earlier,  and  contin- 
ues later.    From  February  to  September,  thunder   storms  ^are  com- 
mon, often   accompanied    with  severe  thunder,  and  sometimes  with 
gales,  or  tornadoes,  in  which  the  trees  of  the  forest  are  prostrated  in 
every  direction,  and  the  tract  of  country,  which  is  covered  with  these 
fallen  trees,  is  called  a  '  hurricane.'     The  depressing  influence  of  the 
summer  heat  results  from  its  long  continuance,  and  equable  and  unre- 
mitting tenor,  rather  than  from  the  intensity  of  its  ardor  at  any  given 
time.    It  must,  however,  be  admitted,  that  at  all  times  the  unclouded 
radiance   of  the  vertical  sun  of  this  climate  is  extremely  oppressive. 
Such  are  the  summers  and  autumns  of  the  southern  division  of  this  valley. 
The  winters,  in  the  whole  extent  of  the  country,  are  variable,  passing 
rapidly  from  warm  to  cold,  and  the  reverse.     Near  the  Mississippi,  and 
where  there  is  little  to  vary  the  general  direction  of  the  winds,  they  ordi- 
narily blow  three  or  four  days  from  the  north.  In  the  northern  and  middle 
regions,  the  conseqiience  is  cold  weather,  frost,  more  or  less  severe,  and 


J 


I 


UlSKAHtS, 


35 


ion  for  a  crop. 
t  is  the  staple 
he  trees,  and 
vial  grounds  a 
ly  designating 
in  the  forest, 
Wheat  is  no 
igs  its  fruit  to 

cane  and  the 
region  of  the 
in  the  coldest 
•ked  by  nights 
m  last  longer 
ids  and  warm 
i'ebruary,  and 
ir  during  the 
larly  in  Marcli 
of  the  cornus 
s  canadensis^ 
are  perfumed 
and  other  fra- 
torm  occurs. 
le  regions  the 
the  mercury 
eat,  however, 
and  contin- 
ns  ^are  com- 
letimes  with 
prostrated  in 
d  with  these 
uence  of  the 
le  and  unre- 
al any  given 
e  unclouded 
y  oppressive, 
of  this  valley, 
able,  passing 
ssissippi,  and 
ds,  they  ordi- 
n  and  middle 
IS  severe,  and 


i-*\ 


perhaps  blurin,  with  siiuw  and  s-lwf.  Duriiit,'  these  dnv^ '^^^  uvem  ••„ 
covered  with  ice.  'I'lie  opposite  breeze  alternates.  'l'li<  is  imm*^!* 
utely  a  bland  and  rolnxing  feeling  in  the  atmosphere.  It  becwfnes  warm; 
and  the  rf^d-birda  aiiig  in  these  duyy,  in  January  and  February,  as  tar 
north  us  Prairie  du  Chien.  Tiiesc  abrupt  and  freciucnt  transitions  can 
hardly  fail  to  have  an  unfavorable  influence  upon  health.  From  40°  to 
.*J()°  the  rivers  almost  invariably  fnie/e,  for  a  longer  <jr  shorter  period, 
llirough  the  winter.  At  St.  Louis  on  the  Mississippi,  and  at  Cincin- 
nati on  the  Oiiio,  in  nearly  the  same  parallels,  between  38°  and  39°, 
the  two  rivers  are  sometimea  capable  of  being  crossed  on  the  ice  for  eight 
weeks  togetlier. 

Although  the  suuuners*  over  all  this  valley  must  be  admitted  to  be 
hot,  yet  the  exemption  of  the  country  from  mountains  and  impedimenta 
to  the  free  course  of  the  winds,  and  the  circumstance,  that  the  greater 
\)roportion  of  the  country  has  a  surface  bare  of  forests,  and,  probably, 
other  unexplained  atmospheric  agents,  concur  to  create,  during  the  sul- 
try months,  almost  a  constant  breeze.  It  thence  happens,  that  the  air 
on  these  wide  prairies  is  rendered  fresh,  and  the  heats  are  tempered,  in 
the  same  manner,  as  is  felt  on  the  ocean. 

There  is  a  circumstance,  pertaining  to  vegetation  in  the  middle  and 
southern  regions  of  this  country,  that  we  have  not  seen  noticed  by  other 
writers,  but  which  we  have  often  remarked  with  surprise;  and  it  is,  that 
the  same  degree  of  heat  m  the  spring  does  not  advance  vegetation  as 
rapidly,  as  at  the  north.  We  have  seen  a  brilliant  sun,  and  felt  the  las- 
situde of  the  warm  spring  days  continued  in  succession,  and  yet  have 
remarked  the  buds  to  remain  apparently  stationary,  and  the  develope- 
ment  of  vegetation  almost  imperceptible.  The  same  amount  of  heat  at 
Quebec  would  have  completely  unfolded  the  foliage,  and  clothed  the 
earth  with  verdure.* 

Diseases.  A  satisfactory  account  of  the  diseases  of  this  valley  would 
occupy  more  space,  than  we  have  to  bestow  upon  the  subject,  and  could 
only  be  expected  in  treatises,  professedly  devoted  to  medicine.  General 
remarks  upon  the  subject  can  only  be  expected  liere.  In  such  a  variety 
of  climates  and  exposures — in  a  country  alternately  covered  in  one  point 
with  the  thickest  forests,  and  in  another  spreading  out  into  grassy 
plains — in  one  section  having  a  very  dry,  and  in  another  a  very  humid 
atmosphere — and  havmg  every  degree  of  temperature,  from  that  of  the 
Arctic  regions,  to  that  of  the  West  Indies,  there  must  necessarily  be 
generated  all  the  forms  and  varieties  of  disease,  that  spring  simply  from 
climate.    Emigrants  from  the  Atlantic  country  will  always  find  it  un- 

♦  For  table  of  climate  see  appendix,  table  No.  1. 


36 


MIMISSIFPI   VALLEY. 


\     !         .1      .1 


H    ' 


1:1 


lafe,  to  select  their  residence  near  ntn^nnt  waters  nnd  creeping  bayous^ 
on  the  rich  nnd  heavy  timberet'  aUuvionH.  Yet  tlicHO,  from  their  fertility, 
and  the  ease,  with  which  they  nr.^  hrouj^ht  into  nultiviitioii,  are  the  pointH 
moit  frequently  selectrd.  The  i  i( '  plains  of  tli<>  Scioto  were  the  graves  of 
the  first  settlers.  They  have  lo  ip  since  hccn  hron^'ht  into  cultivation, 
and  have  lost  their  character  for  insnluhrity.  A  tluMisand  places  in  the 
West,  which  were  selected  as  residences  by  the  first  immigrants,  on 
account  of  their  fertility,  and  which  were  at  lirst  rejiarded  as  haunts  of 
disease  and  mortality,  have  now  a  character  tor  salubrity. 

On  the  lower  courses  of  the  Ohio,  the  Wabash,  the  Tennessee,  the 
Mississippi,  and  its  southern  tril)Utaries, — in  short,  wherever  the  bottoms 
are  wide,  the  forests  deep,  the  surface  level,  and  slopinj,'  back  from  the 
river,  the  vegetation  rank — wherever  the  rivers  overflow,  and  leave  stag- 
nant waters,  that  areoidy  carried  ofVby  evivporation— wherever  there  are 
ponds  and  lagoons  in  the  bottoms,  to  catch  and  retain  the  rains  and  the 
overflow,  it  may  be  assumed,  as  a  general  maxim,  that  such  positions 
will  be  unhealthy;  and  more  or  less  so,  as  more  or  less  of  these  circum- 
stances concur.  Wherever  these  causes  of  disease  exist,  there  is  no 
part  of  this  valley,  which  has  not  a  summer  of  sufficient  heat  and  duration, 
to  quicken  these  causes  into  fatal  action. 

The  very  rich  and  extensive  alluvial  prairies  of  the  upper  Mississippi, 
and  of  the  Illinois,  which  are  covered  with  a  prodigious  growth  of  grass 
and  weeds,  generally  contain  marshy  basins,  small  lakes  and  plashes, 
ivhere  the  water  from  the  blufis  and  the  high  lands  is  caught  and  retained. 
They  will  ordinarily  prove  unhealthy, — some  think,  more  so,  than  the 
timbered  country, — until  these  reservoirs  of  stagnant  waters  are  all 
drained,  and  the  surplus  vegetation  is  burned  off,  or  otherwise  removed 
by  the  progress  of  vegetation.  These  places  strike  the  eye  delightfully, 
and  their  openness,  and  exposure  to  be  swept  by  the  winds,  seem  to  pre- 
clude them  from  the  chance  of  sickliness.  Their  extraordinary  fertility, 
and  their  being  at  once  ready  for  the  plough,  hold  out  allurements  to 
immigrants.  But  there  appears  to  be  in  the  great  plan  of  Providence  a 
scale,  in  which  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  human  condition 
are  balanced. — Where  the  lands  are  extremely  fertile,  it  seems  to  be 
appended  to  them,  as  a  drawback  to  that  advantage,  that  they  are  gener- 
ally sickly. 

Immigrants  have  scarcely  ever  paused  long  enough,  or  taken  sufficient 
elements  into  the  calculation,  in  selecting  their  residence,  with  a  view  to 
its  salubrity.  When  the  choice  is  to  be  made,  they  are  often  encumbered 
with  families,  and  generally  feel  stinted  both  in  time  and  money,  and  are 
in  a  hurry  to  commence  operations  for  the  provision  of  tlieir  families. 
They  are  apt  to  give  too  little  weight  to  the  most  important  motive  of 


i 


4 


I 
1- 


s    -1 


ir 


imheami:h. 


37 


pinff  bayous, 
heir  fertility, 
re  the  points 
lliej^nives  of 
»  cultivation, 
places  in  the 
migrants,  on 
lis  JKiunts  of 

nnessee,  the 
the  bottoms 
ick  from  the 
[\  leave  stag- 
ver  tliere  are 
ains  and  the 
ch  positions 
hese  circum- 
therc  is  no 
tnd  duration, 

Mississippi, 

wth  of  grass 

and  plashes, 

md  retained. 

so,  than  the 

tera  are  all 

^ise  removed 

delightfully, 

seem  to  pre- 

ary  fertility, 

irements   to 

rovidence  a 

n  condition 

eems  to  be 

y  are  gener- 

en  sufficient 
th  a  view  to 
encumbered 
ney,  and  are 
cir  famtlies, 
it  motive  of 


i 


j»J|,  which  ought  to  dotermino  their  election.     A  drop  bottom,  afcrtilo 
Koil,  a  position  on   tlu^   mar^'iu  of  a  boutable  or  navigable  stream;  theso 
nn-  apt  to  lie  till!  (l(!tormiiiitig  elements  of  their  choice.     The  heavy 
forest  is  levelled.     A    thousand    trees  moulder,  about  the  cabbl.     TIk) 
stngnant  waters,  that,  while  slnehled  from  the  action  of  the  sui  by  the 
forest,  had   remained    comparatively   innoxious,  exposrd   now  to   tlio 
burning  rays  of  the  sun,  and  renderv'd  more  deleterious  by  b(!ing  filled 
with  trunks  and  branchesof  decaying  trees,  and  all  kinds  of  ptUtid  vege- 
tiitioM,  become  laboratories  of  miasm,  and  emit  ou  every  side,  the  seeds 
of  di.sease. — When  we  know,  that  such  have  biieii  precisely  the  circum- 
stances, in  which  a  great   portion    of  the  iiiunigrants  to  the  western 
country  have  fixed  themselves  in  open  cabins,  that  drink  in  the  humid 
atmosphere  of  the  night,  through  a  hundred  crevices,  in  a  new  an<l  untried 
climate,  under  a  higher  temperature,  under  the  influence  of  new  diet 
and  regimen,  and,  perhaps,  under  the  depressing  fatigue  of  scTere  labor 
and  exposure;  need  we  wonder,  that  the  country  has  actiuircd  a  general 
character  of  unhealthiness? 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  that  in  the  southern  and  middle  regions  of 
of  this  valley,  the  wide,  level  and  heavy  timbered  alluvions  are  intrinsic' 
ally  more  or  less  unhealthy.  It  cannot  be  disguised,  that  in  theso 
situations,  the  new  resident  is  subject  to  bilious  complaints,  to  remit- 
ting fevers,  and  more  than  all,  to  intermitting  fever,  or  fever  and  ague. 
This  complaint  is  the  general  scourge  of  the  valley. 

It  is  an  undoubted  fact,  explained  in  ditTerent  ways,  and  by  different 
theories,  by  the  people,  that  even  in  the  most  unfavorable  positions  on 
the  lower  waters  of  the  Ohio,  or  even  the  bayous  of  Arkansas,  or  Red 
liver,  the  immigrant  is  not  so  much  exposed,  while  his  cabin  is  still 
under  the  shade  of  the  unbroken  forest.  The  most  dangerous  period 
is,  after  the  trees  have  been  levelled  a  year  or  two,  and  while  they  are 
still  decaying  about  the  dwelling.  This  well  known  fact  woulffaeem 
to  give  plausibility  to  the  doctrine,  that  these  deep  and  grand  forests 
feed  their  foliage  with  an  atmosphere,  that  is  adverse  to  the  life  of  man; 
and  that  when  the  forests  are  cleared  away,  the  miasm,  the  noxious  air, 
that  used  to  be  absorbed  and  devoured  by  the  redundant  vegetation  and 
foliage  of  the  forests,  and  incorporated  with  its  growth,  thus  detached 
and  disengaged,  inhaled  by  the  new  residents,  becomes  a  source  of  disease. 
Another  fact,  in  relation  to  the  choice  of  a  residence  with  a  view  to 
its  salubrity,  has  been  abundantly  and  unanswerably  proved  by  experi- 
ence. It  is,  that  bluffs  on  the  margins  of  wide  bottoms  and  alluvial  prairies 
are  more  unhealthy  situations,  than  those,  in  the  bottom  or  prairie,  which 
they  overlook.  This  fact  has  been  amply  demonstrated  on  the  Ohio 
bottoms  and  blufts,  on  the  margins  of  the  alluvial  prairies  of  the  upper 


t 


• 


38 


UliitiliimPPI    YALLUr. 


I      i\ 


If 


Mississippi,  and,  in. short,  wherever  a  higli  blufl'overlooJiS  a  wide  Ijottom. 
The  inhabitants  on  the  airy  and  beautiful  bluffs  that  bound  the  noble 
prairies  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  in  an  atmosphere,  apparently  so  pure, 
as   to  preclude  all  causes  of  disease,  are  far  more  subject  to  fever 
and  ague,  than  the  people  that  inhabit  below  tlicm  on  the  level  of  the 
prairies;    The  same  has  been  remarked  of  the  Chickasaw  bluffs,  fort 
Pickering,  or  Memphis,  fort  Adams,  Natchez,  Baton  Rouge,  and  the 
bluffs,  generally,  along  the  great  water  courses.     Yet,  though  such  is  the 
uniform  teachmg  of  experience,  so  deceptive  is  the  salubrious  aspect  of 
these  aiiy  hills,  that  swell  above  the  dun  and  murky  air,  that  seems  to 
lie,  like  a  mist  over  the  wide  bottoms  below  them,  that  most  people,  in 
choosing  their  residence  will  be  guided  by  their  senses,  in  opposition  to 
their  experience*    We  know  not,  whether  the  theory,  by  wliich  this  fact 
is  explained,  is  a  sound  one  or  not.    It  is  said  that  the  miasm,  or  noxious 
air  from  putrid  vegetation,  and  stagnant  water  in  the  swamps  and 
bottoms,  is  specifically  lighter,  than  atmospheric  air;  that,  of  course,  it 
^  rises  from    the  plains,  and  hovers  over  the  summits  of  the  bluffs,  here 
finding  its  level  of  specific  gravity;  and  that, were  it  colored,  it  would  be 
seen  overlaying  the  purer  strata  of  air  beneath  it. 

The  slopes  of  the  Alleghanies,  the  interior  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  of 
Tennessee  and  Indiana,  where  the  forest  is  cleared  away,  and  the  land 
has  been  for  a  sufficient  time  under  cultivation,  is  sufficiently  remote 
from  stagnant  waters — the  high  prairies  of  Illinois  and  Missouri — the 
dry  pine  woods  of  the  lower  and  southern  country —  parts  of  the  plains 
of  Opelousas  and  Attakapas — considerable  portions  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi — and,  generally,  the  open  country  towards  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains, may  be  considered  as  healthy,  as  any  other  country.  As  a  general 
remark,  the  inhabitants  of  this  valley  are  more  subject  to  bilious  com- 
plaint^ than  those  of  the  northern  and  middle  Atlantic  states;  but, 
probably,  not  as  much  so,  as  those  on  the  sea  board  of  the  southern 
Atlantic  states. — Bilious  symptoms,  especially  in  the  southern  regions, 
are  apt  to  be  combined  with  all  forms  of  disease.  Intermitting  fevers  are 
common  through  all  the  country,  as  they  were  even  in  New  England,  in 
the  earlier  stages  of  its  settlement,  and  while  it  was  still  covered  with 
forests.  It  is  seldom  a  severe  disease;  and  in  most  inptances  readily 
yields  to  the  universally  established  modes  of  treatment,  by  previous 
evacuations,  and  bark.  Sometimes  it  becomes  complicated  with  other 
diseases,  and  assumes  a  strongly  bilious  type;  and  it  is  then  a  formidable 
disease;  It  is  a  well  known  symptom  of  this  disorder,  that  it  recurs  at 
regular  intervals.  When  the  links  of  the  associated  chain  of  disease  are 
formed,  if  the  disorder  be  cured,  it  is  apt  to  recur  again.  All  indisposi- 
tion is  apt  to  take  this  form;  and  it  has  this  advantage  in  security  against 


4 


y- 


■# 


J^ 


%., 


d^-# 


DISEASGS. 


39 


ide  bottom. 
1  the  noble 
tly  so  pure, 
ct  to  fever 
level  of  the 
bluffs,  fort 
ge,  and  the 
isuch  is  the 
)us  aspect  of 
lat  seems  to 
•st  people,  in 
ipposition  to 
lich  this  fact 
n,  or  noxious 
swamps  and 
of  course,  it 
e  bluffs,  here 
d,  it  would  be 

Kentucky,  of 
and  the  land 
iently  remote 
Missouri — the 
of  the  plains 
A.labama  and 
locky  moun- 
As  a  general 
)ilious  corn- 
states;  but, 
the  southern 
lern  regions, 
ins  fevers  are 

CD 

England,  in 

covered  with 

ances  readily 

by  previous 
ed  with  other 

a  formidable 
t  it  recurs  at 
of  disease  are 
All  indisposi- 
curity  agamst 


H 


.1 


other  diseases,  tliat  when  a  person  has  been  for  a  considerable  time  sub- 
ject to  ague,  wliatcver  forai  of  disease  may  happen  to  assail  him,  it  ulti- 
mately runs  into  the  form  of  ague.  But  these  agues,  when  often  repeated, 
and  long  continued,  gradually  sap  the  constitution,  and  break  down  the 
powers  of  life.  The  person  becomes  enfeebled  and  dropsical.  Maras- 
mus, br  what  is  called  '  cachexy,'  ensues.  A  very  common  result  is, 
that  enlargement  of  the  spleen,  vulgarly  called  'an  ague  cake,'  This 
form  of  disease  is  most  perceptible  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  valley. 

In  the  summer  and  autumnal  months  bilious  fevers  are  apt  to  prevail, 
probably  to  a  greater  extent,  than  in  the  Atlantic  country.  But  it  is  be- 
lieved, they  more  generally  assume  the  remittent  or  intermittent  form; 
that  they  are  not  so  frequently  attended  with  inflammatory  symptoms,  and 
that  they  more  readily  yield  to  medicine.  The  continued  bilious  fever 
of  this  country,  as  in  other  countries,  is  always  a  formidable  disease.  In 
the  lower  and  southern  country,  in  the  heats  of  summer  and  autumn, 
when  it  prevails  in  towns  and  compact  villages,  it  often  assumes  a 
malignant  type.  Prevention  here,  as  elsewhere,  is  found  to  be  better, 
than  remedy;  and  avoidance  of  exposure  to  night  air,  to  rains,  and  the 
direct  and  continued  influence  of  the  sun,  and  strict  temperance  in  eatmg 
and  drinking,  would  no  doubt,  prevent  many  of  these  terrible  diseases. 
Persons,  especially,  who  are  passing  through  the  process  of  acclimation, 
ought  not  only  to  adopt  this  plan,  but  occasionally  to  take  cathartics  fol- 
lowed by  the  use  of  bark. — The  grand  remedies  of  the  western  country,  it 
is  well  known  are  calomel  and  bark.  We  have  no  doubt,  that  the  great 
quantities  of  calomel,  that  are  administered,  equally  by  quacks  and  regu- 
lar physicians,  in  adherence  to  a  system,  that  has  grown  into  a  fashion,  and 
which  level  all  skill  to  the  mechanical  application  of  a  certain  number  of 
grains  of  that  medicine,  will  eventually  yield  to  a  more  discriminating 
mode  of  practice.  The  present  course  of  procedure  is  too  often  ruinous 
to  the  teeth,  and  even  when  the  patient  is  cured,  must  tend  to  sap  and 
break  down  the  powers  of  life. 

From  the  variable  character  of  the  winters,  and  from  other  causes^ 
rheumatism  is  a  common  complaint.  Severe  colds  and  pneumonic 
affections  are  apt  to  prevail  in  the  winter.  There  is  but  too  much  propriety 
in  calling  the  two  first  months  of  autumn,  in  many  places  in  the  south, 
'the  sickly  months.'  But,  as  if  to  compensate  for  the  prevalence  of 
bilious  affections,  and  the  fever  and  ague,  pulmonic  consumption  is  a 
very  uncommon  disease,  not  often  witnessed  even  in  the  northern  regions 
of  the  country.  Fifty  persons  fall  victims  to  this  terrible  destroyer  in  the 
Atlantic  country,  to  one,  that  dies  of  it  here. 

It  is  a  very  trite,  but  true  and  important  remark,  that  in  proportion  as 
the  country  becomes  opened,  cultivated  and  peopled,  in  proportion  as  the 


V 


40 


MISSISSIFFI   VALLEY. 


redundance  and  rankness  of  natural  vegetation  is  replaced  by  that  of 
cultivation,  tlie  country  becomes  more  healthy.  We  shall  naturally  ro^ 
mark  again  on  the  peculiar  features  of  disease,  in  particular  sections  of 
the  country,  when  we  treat  of  those  sections.  We  shall  only  add  in  this 
place,  that  in  the  southern  re  jions  of  this  valley,  the  inhabitants  are  sub- 
ject to  a  common  and  troubles ime  affection,  called  the '  bowel  complaint.' 
It  is  particularly  fatal  to  children.  When  it  is  prolonged  to  a  chronic 
diarrhoea,  it  is  sometimes  fatal  to  adults.  It  is  a  very  different  complaint 
from  that  disorder  which  sometimes  prevails  in  the  Atlantic  country,  as  a 
sweeping  epidemic — the  dysentery.  The  latter  is  an  uncommon  disorder 
in  this  region. 

Trees  and  Shrubs.     It  will  not  be  expected,  that  we  shall  dwell  on 

.  this  subject,  in  relation  to  this  country,  as  professed  naturalists.  We 
propose  only  to  take  popular  views  of  the  subject,  which,  after  all,  we 
suspect,  are  best  understood,  most  interesting,  and  most  useful.  We  re^ 
fer  those,  who  wish  to  take  more  detailed  and  scientific  views  of  this 

4  subject,  to  the  writings  of  Bartram,  Bradbury,  Pursh,  Michaux  and  Nuttal; 
The  following  is  believed  to  be  a  tolerably  ample  and  exact  enumeration 
of  the  trees  and  shrubs,  that  are  common  to  the  Mississippi  valley.  The 
divisions  of  them  according  to  climate  will  occur  in  the  account  of  tho 
regions,  where  they  are  found. 

In  forming  this  catalogue,  we  have  had  to  encounter  the  common 
difficulty  of  selecting  the  LinniEan  names  from  conflicting  authorities. 
It  belongs  to  the  foppery  of  the  easy  assumption  of  science  in  botany, 
as  in  geology,  that  different  authors  either  create,  or  adopt  different 
nomenclatures,  as  suits  their  fancy.     We  would  prefer  that  nomenclature 

^  by  which  the  trees  and  shrubs  have  been  longest  known.  It  may  be, 
that  there  are  trees  and  shrubs  known  in  this  valley,  which  are  not  in- 
cluded here.  But  it  is  believed,  that  few,  if  any,  that  are  well  or 
familiarly  known,  are  omitted.* 

As  respects  the  divisions  of  these  trees,  that  belong  to  particular 
climates,  we  may  remark,  that  most  of  the  oaks  and  hickories,  and  the 
cotton  wood,  are  common  to  all  the  climates.  The  white,  or  Norwegian 
pine,  is  only  found  in  the  north,  northwestern  and  northeastern  regions. 
The  cypress  is  not  often  found  north  of  36°.  The  long  leaved  pitch 
pine,  and  the  laurel  magnolia,  are  not  often  seen  north  of  33°.  Th« 
live  oak  seldom  extends  north  of  31°. 

On  the  Alleghany,  on  the  waters  of  the  upper  Mississippi,  between 
Rock  river  and  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  in  some  places  on  the  Illinois, 
the  Weymouth,  or  Norwegian  pine — the  white  pine  of  New  England — is 

♦  For  table  of  trees,  plants,  &c.  see  Appendix,  table  Not  II, 


■n^ 


TREES    AND  8imUBS. 


41 


I  by  that  of 
laturally  re- 
sections of 
Y  add  in  this 
ants  are  sub- 
1  complaint.' 
to  a  chronic 
nt  complaint 
country,  as  a 
mon  disorder 

hall  dwell  on 
iralists.  "We 
,  after  all,  we 
iful.  We  re^ 
views  of  this 
IX  and  Nuttah 
t  enumeration 
valley.  The 
ccount  of  tho 

the  common 
ig  authorities, 
ice  in  botany, 
dopt  different 
nomenclature 
1.  It  may  be, 
ch  are  not  in- 
are  well  or 

to  particular 
aries,  and  the 
or  Norwegian 
stern  regions, 
leaved  pitch 
If  33°.      The 

ippi,  between 
on  the  Illinois, 
England — is 

No.  II. 


■'V. 

I 


found  in  all  its  beauty  and  perfection.  It  no  where  has  a  larger  and  taller 
shaft,  or  a  more  beautiful  verdure  of  foliage,  than  on  the  Alleghany;  and  it 
is  from  the  banks  of  this  distant  stream,  and  from  its  waters  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  that  New  Orleans  is  supplied  with  white  pine  plank  of 
the  greatest  clearness  and  beauty.  On  the  Gasconade,  the  Osage,  and 
the  southern  rivers  of  the  Missouri,  in  the  mine  country  in  Missouri, 
and  from  that  point,  to  the  upper  waters  of  White  river,  and  across  to 
the  Arkansas,  the  common  short  leaved  pitch  pine  is  abundant.  It  is 
tall,  straight,  and  of  a  fine  size  for  the  saw  mill. 

The  cypress  begins  to  be  seen  on  the  swampy  and  overflowed  lands, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  It  is,  along  with  the  swamp  gum,  the  most 
common  tree  in  the  deep  swamps  from  that  point  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 
It  is  in  every  respect  a  striking  and  singular  tree.  Under  its  deep  shade 
arise  a  hundred  curiously  shaped  knobs,  called  *  cypress  knees.'  They 
are  regular,  cone  shaped  protuberances,  of  different  heights  and  circum- 
ferences,  not  unlike  tall  and  taper  circular  bee  hives.  We  have  often 
remarked  a  very  small  cypress  sprig,  that  had  started  from  the  apex  of 
one  of  these  cypress  knees;  and  we  believe,  that  it  will  ultimately  be 
found,  that  each  one  of  the  knees  is  the  natural  matrix  of  the  tree.  The 
tree  itself  always  has  a  buttress,  which  has  the  exact  appearance  of  an 
enlarged  cypress  knee. 

The  noble  trees  rear  their  straight  columns  from  a  large,  cone  shaped 
buttress,  whose  circumference  at  the  ground  is,  perhaps,  three  times 
that  of  the  regular  shaft  of  the  tree.  This  cone  rises  from  six  to  ten  feet, 
witi.  a  regular  and  sharp  taper,  and  from  the  apex  of  the  cone  towers 
the  perpendicular  column,  with  little  taper,  after  it  has  left  the  cone, 
from  sixty  to  eighty  feet  clear  shaft.  Very  near  its  top,  it  begins  to 
throw  out  multitudes  of  horizontal  branches,  which  interlace  with  those ' 
of  the  adjoining  trees,  and  when  bare  of  leaves,  have  an  air  of  desolation 
and  death,  more  easily  felt  than  described.  In  the  season  of  vegetation, 
the  leaves  are  short,  fine,  and  of  a  verdure  so  deep,  as  almost  to  seem 
brown,  giving  an  indescribable  air  of  funereal  solemnity  to  this  singular 
tree.  A  cypress  forest,  when  viewed  from  the  adjacent  hills,  with  its  num- 
berless interlaced  arms,  covered  with  this  dark  brown  foliage,  has  the 
aspect  of  a  scaffolding  of  verdure  in  the  air.  It  grows,  too,  in  deep  and 
sickly  swamps,  the  haunts  of  fever,  musquitos,  moccasin  snakes,  alliga- 
tors, and  all  loathsome  and  ferocious  animals,  that  congregate  far  from 
the  abodes  of  man,  and  seem  to  make  common  cause  with  nature  against 
him.  The  cypress  loves  the  deepest,  most  gloomy,  inaccessible  and  in- 
undated swamps;  and  south  of  33°,  is  generally  found  covered  with  the 
sable  festoons  of  long  moss,  hanging,  as  it  seems,  a  shroud  of  mourning 
wreaths  almost  to  the  ground.    It  seems  to  flourish  best,  where  water 

6 


,* 


42 


MISfllSSIPPI   VALLEY. 


,    covers  its  roots  for  half  the  year.     When  it  rises  from  eight  or  ten  feet 
water  of  the  overflow  of  rivers,  the  apex  of  its  buttress  is  just  on  a  level 
with  the  surface  of  the  water.    It  is  then,  in  many  places,  that  they  cut 
it.     The  negroes  surround  the  tree  in  periogucs  and  thus  get  at  the 
trunk  above  the  huge  and  hard  buttress,  and  fall  it  with  comparative  ease. 
They  cut  off  the  strait  shaft,  as  suits  their  purpose,  and  float  it  to  the  raft, 
or  the  nearest  high  grounds.    Unpromising,  as  are  the  places  and  the 
circumstances  of  its  growth,  no  tree  of  the  country,  where  it  is  found, 
is  so  extensively  useful.     It  is  free  from  knots,  is  easily  wrought,  and 
makes  excellent  planks,  shingles,  and  timber  of  all  sorts.     It  is  very 
durable,  and   incomparably  the  most  valuable  tree  in  the  southern 
country  of  this  valley.    It  is  a  fortunate  circumstance,  that  it  inhabits 
the  most  gloomy  and  inaccessible  regions,  which  will  not  come  into  cul- 
tivation for  ages.     It  will  of  course  have  a  better  chance,  not  to  share  the 
fate  of  the  most  useful  timber  on  the  valuable  uplands.     The  improvi- 
dent axe  soon  renders  timber  difficult  to  be  procured,  in  a  country  in  the 
centre  of  forests.    All  the  cypress  forests,  however,  that  are  easily  acces- 
sible, on  the  lower  Mississippi,  and  its  tributaries,  have  been  stripped  of 
their  timber  by  the  Mississippi  lumberers,  who  have  floated  to  New  Or- 
leans millions  of  feet  of  this  timber,  from  the  lands  of  the  United  States, 
and  who  have  already  created  a  scarcity  of  this  species  on  the  margin  of 
the  Mississippi.    There  are,  however,  in  the  vast  swamps  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, Arkansas,  Red  river,  and  Florida,  inexhaustible  supplies  of  cypress 
Still  remaining. 

The  next  most  useful  tree  of  this  region  are  the  oaks  of  which  there 
are  enumerated  in  this  valley  twelve  varieties;  and  there  are,  probably, 
more  than  that  number.  The  most  important  of  these  is  the  upland  white 
oak.  It  is  a  larger  and  handsomer  tree,  than  in  the  Atlantic  country? 
but  is  less  hrm,  hard  and  durable.  The  same  may  be  said  of  tlie  swamp 
white  oak,  quercus  aquatica,  which  grows  of  a  prodigious  height,  size  and 
beauty.  There  is  the  black  oak,  with  large  and  small  leaves;  the  yellow 
oak,  and  the  post  oak,  growing  on  cold,  level,  wet  and  clayey  lands.  It 
receives  its  name  from  the  durability  of  posts  made  of  it  in  the  ground. 
It  is  said  to  be  the  most  durable  timber  of  the  oak  kind  in  the  upper 
country,  for  boat  and  ship  building.  The  overcup  oak  receives  its  vul- 
gar name  from  the  size  of  the  cups  of  its  acorns.  The  Spanish,  willow, 
red  and  black  oaks,  have  nothing  particular  to  distinguish  them.  The 
black-jack  is  a  scrubby  and  small  kind  of  oak,  growing  on  plashy,  and 
cold,  level  lands. 

South  of  31°,  in  the  lower  country  along  the  coast  of  Florida,  extend- 
ing into  the  interior  from  sixty  to  a  hundred  miles,  and  along  the  shore 
of  Louisiana,  for  half  that  depth,  is  the  region  of  the  live  oak,  quercus 


'AX- 


fi 


TREES   AND  SIIR1TBS. 


48 


lit  or  ten  feet 
jst  on  a  level 
that  they  cut 
IS  get  at  the 
parative  ease. 

it  to  the  raft, 
aces  and  the 
e  it  is  found, 
wrought,  and 
!.  It  is  very 
the  southern 
it  it  inhabits 
ome  into  cul- 
t  to  share  the 
The  improvi- 
;ountry  in  the 

easily  acces- 
tn  stripped  of 
d  to  New  Or- 
Jnited  States, 
the  margin  of 
if  the  Missis- 
ies  of  cypress 

f  which  there 
ire,  probably, 
upland  white 
ntic  country? 
)f  tlie  swamp 
ight,  size  and 
the  yellow 
ey  lands.     It 
1  the  ground- 
in  the  upper 
-eives  its  vul- 
nish,  willow, 
them.    The 
plashy,  and 

irida,  extend- 
ng  the  shore 
oak,  quercus 


■I 

i 


I 


sempervircns.  It  is  not  a  tall,  but  a  spreading  tree,  with  long  lateral 
branches,  looking,  at  a  distance,  like  an  immense  spread  umbrella.  It 
is  a  tree,  extremely  hard,  compact,  and  difficult  to  cut;  and  when  green, 
is  so  heavy,  as  to  sink  in  the  water.  It  is  almost  incorruptible.  The 
islands  on  the  shore  of  the  gulf  furnish  this  tree  in  abundance.  It  is 
so  difficult  to  cut  down,  to  burn,  or  otherwise  clear  from  the  soil,  that 
in  those  islands,  whicli  have  recently  begun  to  be  in  request,  as  sugar 
lands,  tliis  tree,  elsewhere  considered  so  valuable  for  ship  timber,  is 
regarded  as  an  incumbrance.  It  is,  valuable  for  its  acorns,  affisrding  the 
finest  range  for  swine.  The  value  of  this  timber  in  ship  building  is 
well  known. 

There  are  enumerated  in  this  country  ten  or  twelve  varieties  of  the 
hickory.  More  than  half  of  these  we  have  not  seen  in  the  Atlantic 
country.  One  of  these  varieties,  juglans  amara,  vel  porcina,  pignut 
hickory,  is  loaded  with  a  nut,  whose  shell  is  softer,  than  an  acorn,  and  the 
meat  to  the  pressure  of  the  fingers  yields  a  copious  oil,  of  use  in  the  finer 
kinds  of  painting.     It  is  acrid,  and  bitter  to  the  taste. 

The  large  walnut  is  a  fruit  of  the  size  of  a  considerable  apple,  and  is 
common  in  the  middle  regions  of  the  valley. 

The  peccan  is  found  far  up  the  Mississippi  and  Illinois,  and  thence  to 
the  gulf  of  Mexico,  It  is  a  tree  of  beautiful  form  and  appearance,  and 
the  most  useful  of  the  whole  class,  except  black  walnut,  for  building  and 
for  rails.  Its  nut  is  long,  cylindrical,  and  olive  shaped,  with  a  shell  com- 
paratively soft.  The  meat  lies  in  two  oblong  lobes,  is  easily  taken  out 
entire,  and  excels  all  other  nuts  in  delicacy  of  flavour.  Unfortunately 
it  soon  becomes  rancid,  and  is  seldom  carried  to  the  Atlantic  country,  in 
its  original  perfection. 

Black  locust,  acacia  triacanthos.  This  is  a  common  and  beautiful 
tree  in  the  richer  soils  of  the  valley.  It  furnishes  a  durable  and  useful 
timber  for  rails,  and  other  purposes,  and  is  beginning  to  be  much  used  in 
the  construction  of  steam  boats,  and  has  been  found  both  stronger  and 
more  durable,  than  any  timber,  that  has  been  used  for  that  purpose.  The 
flowers  of  this  tree  yield  an  exquisite  perfume. 

The  white  flowering  locust  diflers  in  no  respect  from  that  of  the  north. 

The  sugar  maple  is  very  abundant  in  the  northern  and  middle  regions 
of  this  valley.  The  process  of  obtaining  sugar  from  the  sap  of  this  tree 
is  sufficiently  well  known,  and  need  not  be  here  described.  The;e  are 
various  districts,  where  an  ample  sufficiency  of  sugar  might  be  made  for 
the  supply  of  a  numerous  population.  In  difierent  parts  of  Ohio,  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  Illinois  and  Missouri,  it  is  made,  not  only  for  consump- 
tion, but  for  sale.  The  tree  is  of  itself,  apart  from  its  uses,  a  most  beau- 
tiful one.    It  is  one  of  the  first,  that  puts  on  the  livery  of  spring.    The 


■»' 


44 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


season  of  making  it  is  generally  one  of  festivity  and  high  holiday.  W« 
have  tasted  loaf  sugar  refined  from  it,  which  could  in  no  way  be  distin- 
guished from  that,  made  from  the  cane.  The  cheapness  of  the  latter 
kind,  the  abundance  and  excellence  of  its  growth  in  the  lower  country, 
and  the  diminished  expense  of  transporting  it  to  the  upper  states,  in 
consequence  of  the  multiplication  of  steam  boats,  has  diminished  the  de- 
mand for  what  is  called  *  country  sugar,'  and  the  manufacture  of  it  has 
decreased,  since  the  use  of  steam  boats. 

The  black  walnut,  jvglans  nigra,  is  a  splendid  tree,  and  often  grows 
to  a  great  size.  Its  nuts  much  resemble  those  of  the  white  walnut,  or 
what  is  called  'butter  nut'  in  the  northern  states.  It  is  much  used  in 
the  middle  regions  of  the  country,  for  ornamental  finishing  of  houses, 
and  cabinet  furniture ;  and  when  rubbed  with  a  weak  solution  of  nitric 
acid,  can  be  distinguished  from  mahogany  only  by  an  experienced  eye. 
The  white  walnut  is  abundant.  An  extract  of  the  bark  of  this  tree 
furnishes  an  useful  and  common  cathartic. 

The  sycamore,  j?Za<ani«omdew<aK«,  is  the  king  of  the  western  forests. 
It  flourishes  alike  in  every  part  of  the  valley,  that  we  have  seen.  It  is  the 
largest  tree  of  our  woods,  and  rises  in  the  most  graceful  forms,  with  vast, 
spreading,  lateral  branches  covered  with  bark  of  a  brilliant  white.  These 
hundred,  white  arms  of  the  sycamore,  interlacing  with  the  branches  of  the 
other  forest  trees,  in  the  rich  alluvions,  where  it  delights  to  grow,  adds 
one  of  the  distinguishing  traits  of  grandeur  and  beauty  to  the  forest.  A 
trep  of  this  kind,  near  Marietta,  measured  fifteen  feet  and  a  half  in  diam- 
eter.— ^We  have  seen  one  on  the  Big  Miami,  which  we  thought  still  larger. 
Judge  Tucker,  of  Missouri,  cut  off  a  section  of  the  hollow  trunk  of  a  syca- 
more, and  applied  a  roof  to  it,  and  fitted  it  up  for  a  study.  It  was  regu- 
larly cylindrical  and  when  fitted  up  with  a  stove,  and  other  arrangements, 
made  an  ample  and  convenient  apartment.  We  saw  this  gigantic  sec- 
tion of  a  tree,  conveyed  on  sleds  prepared  on  purpose,  and  drawn  by  a 
suflicient  number  of  oxen  to  its  resting  place.  It  is  very  common  to  see 
this  beautiful  tree,  on  the  margin  of  rivers,  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in 
circumference. 

The  yellow  poplar,  tulipifera  liriodendron,  is  a  most  splendid  tree, 
and  next  in  size  to  the  sycamore.  It  rears  into  the  air  a  shaft  of  prodi- 
gious height  and  size.  It  flowers  with  gaudy  bell  shaped  cups,  and  the 
leaves  are  of  beautiful  forms.  It  is  a  very  useful  timber  for  plank  and 
rails,  and  all  the  purposes  of  building,  and  splits  with  great  ease. 

The  cotton  wood,  populits  deltoides,  is,  probably,  more  abundant  on  the 
lower  courses  of  the  Ohio,  on  the  whole  course  of  the  Mississippi, 
Missouri,  St.  Francis,  White  river,  Arkansas,  and  Red  river,  than  any 
other  tree.     It  is  a  tree  of  the  poplar  class,  and  in  appearance  between 


■M 


TREES   AM)   SHRTTDS. 


45 


boliday.  We 
vay  be  distin- 
of  the  latter 
ower  country, 
per  states,  in 
nished  the  de- 
lure  of  it  has 

1  often  grows 
lite  walnut,  or 
much  used  in 
ng  of  houses, 
ition  of  nitric 
)erienced  eye. 
rk  of  this  tree 

estem  forests, 
een.  It  is  the 
ms,  with  vast, 
white.  These 
)ranchesofthe 
to  grow,  adds 
the  forest.  A 
ahalfindiam- 
5ht  still  larger, 
•unk  of  a  syca- 
It  was  regu- 
arrangements, 
3  gigantic  sec- 
nd  drawn  by  a 
common  to  see 
fifteen  feet  in 

splendid  tree, 

haft  of  prodi- 

cups,  and  the 

for  plank  and 

it  ease. 

)undant  on  the 
le  Mississippi, 
iver,  than  any 
ance  between 


the  Balm  of  Gilcad  and  the  Lomhardy  poplav.  It  is  a  noble  and  lofty 
forest  tree,  and  sometimes  vies  with  the  sycamore  itself  for  predomi- 
nance in  size  and  grandeur.  It  is  of  singular  beauty,  when  its  foliage  is 
but  partly  unfolded  in  the  spring.  We  liavc  seen  these  trees,  especially 
in  the  valley  of  Red  river,  twelve  feet  in  diameter;  and  there  are  sin- 
gle trees,  that  will  make  a  thousand  rails.  When  they  are  cut  in  the 
winter,  the  moment  the  axe  penetrates  the  centre  of  the  tree,  there 
gushes  out  a  stream  of  water,  or  sap;  and  a  single  tree  will  discharge 
gallons.  On  the  sand  bars  and  islands  of  the  rivers,  wherever  the  allu- 
vial earth  begins  to  deposite,  there  springs  up  a  growth  of  cotton  wood, 
the  young  trees  standing  so  thick,  as  to  render  it  difficult  for  a  bird  to 
fly  among  them,  and  having  to  a  person  passing  at  a  little  distance  on  the 
river,  a  singular  appearance  of  regularity,  as  thougli  they  had  been  put 
out  to  ornament  a  pleasure  ground.  The  popular  name, '  cotton  wood,' 
is  derived  from  the  circumstance,  that  soon  after  its  foliage  is  unfolded, 
it  flowers,  and  when  the  flowers  fall,  it  scatters  on  the  ground  a  downy 
matter,  exactly  resembling  short,  ginned  cotton  in  feeling  and  appearance. 

Catalpa.  Some  have  undertaken  to  say,  that  this  is  not  a  tree  indige- 
nous to  the  country.  For  our  part,  we  have  no  question  on  the  subject. 
We  have  seen,  on  the  waters  near  the  capo  Girardeau,  catalpas  much 
older  than  the  settlements  of  the  whites  in  this  valley.  We  have  seen 
them,  below  the  chalk  banks  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Mississippi,  of  a 
very  large  size,  and  evidently  of  natural  growth.  It  is  a  tree,  beautiful 
from  the  great  size  and  peculiar  shape  and  deep  green  of  its  foliage. 
When  in  blossom,  its  rounded  top  is  a  tuft  of  flowers  of  great  beauty, 
and  unequalled  fragrance.  One  tree  in  full  flower  fills  the  atmosphere 
for  a  considerable  circumference  round  it,  with  its  delicious  odors.  For 
the  gracefulness  of  its  form,  for  the  grandeur  of  its  foliage,  and  the  rich 
and  ambrosial  fragrance  of  its  flowers,  and  for  the  length  and  various  forma 
of  its  knife  shaped,  pendant  seed  capsules  two  feet  in  length,  we  have 
seen  no  ornamental  tree,  which  in  our  view  equals  the  catalpa. 

Magnolia  grandiflora.  Bartram  and  others,  by  overrating  the  beauty 
of  this  tree,  have  caused,  tliat  when  strangers  first  behold  it,  their  estima- 
tion of  it  falls  too  low.  It  has  been  described,  as  a  very  large  tree.  We 
have  seen  it  in  Florida,  where  Bartram  saw  it.  We  have  seen  it  in  its 
more  congenial  position  for  full  developement,  the  rich  alluvions  of 
Louisiana;  and  we  have  never  seen  it  compare  with  the  sycamore,  the 
cotton  wood,  or  even  the  ash,  in  point  of  size.  It  is  sometimes  a  tall 
tree;  often  graceful  in  form,  but  ordinarily  a  tree  of  fourth  or  fifth  rate 
in  point  of  comparative  size  in  the  forest,  where  it  grows.  Its  bark  is 
smooth,  whitish,  very  thick,  and  something  resembles  that  of  the  beech. 

The  wood  is  soft,  and  for  aught  we  know,  useless.  The  leaves  stroigly 


40 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


resemble  those  of  the  orange  tree,  except  in  being  larger,  thicker,  and 
having  a  hoary  yellowish  down  upon  the  under  side.     The  upper  side 
has  a  perfect  verdure,  and  a  feel  of  smoothness,  as  if  it  was  oiled.    The 
flowers  are  large,  of  a  pure  white,  nearest  resembling  the  northern  pond 
'   lily,  nymphca    odorata,  though  not  so  beautiful;   and   are,  ordinarily, 
about  twice  the  size.     The  fragrance,  is  indeed,  powerful,  but  rather 
offensive.     We  have  felt,  and  we  have  heard  others  complain  of  feeling  a 
sensation  of  faintncss,  in  going  into  a  room,  where  the  chimney  place 
was  filled  with  these  flowers.     The  tree  continues  to  put  forth  flowers  for 
two  months  in  succession,  and  seldom  displays  many  at  a  time.    We 
think,  few  have  been  in  habits  of  examining  flowering  trees  more  atten- 
tively, than  ourselves,  and  we  contemplated   this  tree  for  years  in  the 
season  of  flowers.     Instead  of  displaying,  as  has  been  represented,  a 
cone  of  flowers,  we  have  seldom  seen  a  tree  in  flower,  which  did  not 
require  some  attention  and  closeness  of  inspection  to  discover  where 
the  flowers  were  situated  among  the  leaves.     We  have  not  been  led  to  be- 
lieve, that  others  possessed  the  sense  of  smell  more  acutely,  than  ourselves. 
In  advancing  from  points,  where  these  trees  were  not,  to  the  pine  forest, 
on  the  water  courses  of  which  they  are  abundant,  we  have  been  warned 
of  our  approach  to  them  by  the  sense  of  smell,  at  a  distance  of  something 
more  than  half  a  mile;  and  we  question,  if  any  one  ever  perceived  the 
fragrance  much  farther,  except  by  the  imagination.     The  magnolia  is  a 
striking  tree,  and  an  observer,  who  saw  it  for  the  first  time,  would  remark 
it,  as  such. — But  we  have  been  unable  to  conceive,  whence  the  extrava- 
gant misconceptions,  respecting  the  size,  number,  fragrance  and  beauty 
of  its  flowers  had  their  origin. 

There  are  six  or  seven  varieties  among  the  laurels  of  the  magnolia 
tribe,  some  of  which  have  smaller  flowers,  than  those  of  the  grandiflora, 
but  much  more  delicate  and  agreeably  fragrant.  A  beautiful  evergreen 
of  this  class  is  covered  in  autumn  with  berries  of  intense  blackness,  and 
we  remarked  them  in  great  numbers  about  St.  Francisville.  The  holly 
is  a  well  known  and  beautiful  tree  of  this  class.  But  that  one  which  has 
struck  us,  as  being  the  handsomest  of  the  family,  is  the  laurel  almond, 
laurus  cerasus  vel  Caroliniensis.  It  is  not  a  large  tree.  Its  leaves 
strongly  resemble  those  of  the  peach;  and  it  preserves  a  most  pleasing 
green  through  the  winter.  Its  flowers  yield  a  delicious  perfume.  It 
grows  in  families  of  ten  or  fifteen  trees  in  a  cluster.  Planters  of  taste 
in  the  valley  of  Red  river,  where  it  is  common,  select  the  place  of  their 
dwelling  amidst  a  cluster  of  these  trees. 

Bois  dParc;  maclura  aurantica — bow  wood — is  a  striking  and  beautiful 
tree,  found  on  the  upper  courses  of  the  Washita,  the  middle  regions  of 
Arkansas,  and  occasionally  on  the  northern  limits  of  Louisiana.    It  in- 


if 


TUKES    AND   SUUUB8. 


4ff! 


tliickcr,  and 
e  upper  side 
oiled.    The 
orthern  pond 
i,  ordinarily, 
1,  but  rather 
I  of  feeling  a 
limney  place 
th  flowers  for 
1  time.    We 
g  more  atten- 
years  in  the 
jpresented,  a 
rhich  did  not 
iscover  where 
can  led  to  be- 
lan  ourselves, 
B  pine  forest, 
been  warned 
of  something 
perceived  the 
nagnolia  is  a 
vould  remark 
e  the  extrava- 
;e  and  beauty 

the  magnolia 
!  grandifloraf. 
'ul  evergreen 
ackness,  and 
The  holly 
)ne  which  has 
aurel  almond, 
3.  Its  leaves 
nost  pleasing 
perfume.  It 
inters  of  taste 
place  of  their 

and  beautiful 

le  regions  of 

isiana.    It  in- 


*, 


m 


habits  a  very  limited  rc(i;ion;  ami  wo  do  not  know,  that  it  is  a  native 
elsewliere.  It  has  large  and  beautiful  leaves,  in  form  and  appearance 
between  those  of  the  orange  tree  and  catvilpa;  and,  taken  altogether,  is 
a  tree  of  extraordinary  beauty. — It  bears  a  large  fruit,  of  most  inviting 
appearance,  and  resembling  a  very  large  orange.  Tempting  as  it  is  in 
aspect,  it  is  the  apple  of  Sodom  to  the  taste.  Most  people  consider  it 
vhe  most  splendid  of  all  forest  trees.  We  never  saw  it  in  the  flowering 
season.  There  is  a  solitary  tree,  growing  in  a  garden  in  St.  Louis.  It 
was  there  sheltered  by  a  wall ;  and  we  do  not  know,  if  it  would  flourish  in 
a  situation  so  northern,  without  protection  of  that  kind.  We  remember 
to  have  seen  one  beautiful  tree  growing  near  Natchioches,  apparently  na-* 
tive  there.  It  is  said,  there  it  no  other  within  a  distance  of  many  miles. 
The  wood  is  as  yellow  as  that  of  fustic,  and  yields  a  similar  die.  It  is  hard, 
heavy,  durable,  and  so  elastic,  as  to  receive  its  French  name  from  the 
the  circumstance,  that  all  the  southwestern  savages  use  it  for  bows.  It 
is  thought  to  be  a  wood  more  incorruptible,  than  live  oak,  mulberry,  or 
even  cedar.  We  were  invited  to  visit  the  hulk  of  a  steam  boat,  built 
above  the  raft  on  Red  river,  whose  timbers  were  entirely  of  this  wood. 

China  tree.  This  is  a  tree  more  cultivated  in  the  southern  regions 
of  this  valley,  as  an  ornamental  shade  tree  than  any  other.  It  has  fine, 
long  spiked  leaves,  eight  or  ten  inches  in  length,  set  in  corresponding 
pairs  on  each  side  of  a  stem  two  feet  long.  The  verdure  is  of  the  most 
brilliant  and  deep  shade  in  nature.  In  the  flowering  season,  the  top  id 
one  tuft  of  blossoms,  in  color  and  fragrance  resembling  tlie  lilac,  except 
that  the  tufts  are  larger.  It  holds  in  flower  a  long  time.  It  is  a  tree 
of  the  most  rapid  gro'  ♦'^  of  any  known  in  our  country.  These  trees 
planted  out  in  a  village,  in  a  few  years  completely  embower  it ;  and 
from  the  intenseness  of  their  verdure,  they  impart  a  delightful  freshness 
to  the  landscape,  in  that  sultry  climate.  After  the  leaves  have  fallen  in 
autumn,  the  tree  is  still  covered  with  a  profusion  of  reddish  berries,  of 
the  size  of  haws,  that  give  it  the  appearance,  at  a  little  distance,  of  remain- 
ing in  flower.  Robins  immigrate  to  this  region  in  the  latter  part  of 
winter,  settle  on  these  trees  in  great  numbers,  and  feed  on  the  berries.. 
They  possess  an  intoxicating,  or  narcotic  quality}  and  the  robbins,  sitting 
on  the  trees  in  a  state  of  stupefaction,  may  be  killed  with  a  stick.  The 
bark  is  said  to  be  a  powerful  vermifuge. 

Dog  wood,  corms  florida.  Redbud,  cercis  canadensis.  These  are 
both  of  an  intermediate  size,  between  shrubs  and  trees.  The  former 
has  a  beautiful,  heart  shaped  and  crimped  leaf,  and  an  umbrella  shaped 
top.  It  covers  itself  in  spring  with  a  profusion  of  brilliant  white  flowers, 
and  in  autumn  with  berries  of  a  fine  scarlet.  The  latter  is  the  first  shrub 
that  is  seen  in  blossom  on  the  Ohio.    It  is  then  a  complete  surface  of 


is 


MISSiasiITl    VALLKV. 


v.  I 


I 


i 


. 


blossoms,  resembling'  tbosn  of  llie  poacli  tree,  and  a  stranger  would  take  it 
at  that  time,  to  be  that  tree.  The  siirubs  are  dis[)ersed  every  where  in  the 
woodg;  and  in  descending  tlie  Ohio  early  in  the  spring,  these  masses  of 
brilliant  flowers  confrast  delightfully  with  the  general  brown  of  the 
■  forest.  The  first  time  that  the  voyager  descends  this  river,  the  redbud 
imparts  a  charm  to  the  landscape,  that  he  will  never  forget.  These  two 
are  at  once  the  most  common  and  the  most  beautiful  shrubs  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley.  The  dog  wood,  especially,  is  found  every  where  from 
Pittsburgh  to  thegulf  of  Mexico;  and,  seen  through  the  forests,  in  blos- 
som, is  far  more  conspicuous  for  its  flowers  than  the  magnolia.  It  has 
been  asserted,  that  the  dog  wood  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  quinqui- 
nas. Its  bark  is  certainly  a  powerful  restorative,  in  cases  of  tho 
ague. 

,  Pawpaw,  annona  triloba,  ficus  Indicus.  This,  in  our  view,  is  the 
prince  of  wild  fruit  bearing  shrubs.  The  leaves  are  long,  of  a  rich 
jappearance,  and  green,  considerably  resembling  the  smaller  leaves  of 
Itobacco.  The  stem  is  straight,  white,  and  of  unrivalled  beauty.  In 
fact,  we  have  seen  no  cultivated  shrub  so  ornamental  and  graceful  as  the 
|)awpaw.  The  fruit  closely  resembles  a  cucumber,  having  a  more 
smooth  and  regular  appearance.  When  ripe,  it  is  of  a  rich  yellow. 
There  are  generally  from  two  to  five  in  a  cluster.  A  pawpaw  shrub, 
hanging  full  of  fruits,  of  a  size  and  weight  so  disproportioned  to  the 
^tem,  and  from  under  long  and  rich  looking  leaves  of  the  same  yellow 
with  the  ripened  fruit,  of  an  African  luxuriance  of  growth,  is  to  us  one 
jof  the  richest  spectacles,  that  we  have  ever  contemplated,  in  the  array 
of  the  woods. — The  fruit  contains  from  two  to  six  seeds,  like  those  of 
the  tamarind,  except  that  they  are  double  the  size.  The  pulp  of  the  fruit 
resembles  egg  custard  in  consistence  and  appearance.  It  has  the  same 
'  creamy  feeling  in  the  mouth,  and  unites  the  taste  of  eggs,  cream,  sugar 
and  spice.  It  is  a  natural  custard,  too  luscious  for  the  relish  of  most 
people.  The  fruit  is  nutricious,  and  a  great  resource  to  the  savages. 
So  many  whimsical  and  unexpected  tastes  are  compounded  in  it,  it  is 
said,  a  person  of  the  most  hypochondriac  temperament  relaxes  to  a  smile, 
when  he  tastes  the  pawpaw  for  the  first  time. 

Persimon,  dyospyros  Virginiana.  From  the  body  of  this  tree,  which 
resembles  that  of  a  mazzard  cherry,  when  pierced,  exudes  a  copious  gum, 
not  unlike  gum  Arabic,  in  appearance.  The  leaves  resemble  those  of  a 
wild  black  cherry.  The  fruit  is  of  the  size  of  a  common  horse  plumb 
When  green,  it  is  astonishingly  astringent.  It  is  only  ripened  by  the  frost 
of  winter.  There  are  varieties  in  its  size,  from  low  shrubs  to  considera- 
ble trees.  When  the  small  blue  persimon  is  thoroughly  ripened,  it  is 
even  «weeter  than  the  fig,  and  is  a  delicious  fruit.    If  tlie  best  kinds 


r 


TUEKS    AM)    HIIKIIJS. 


4» 


r  would  take  it 
y  wlicre  in  the 
heso  masses  of 
brown  of  the 
)r,  the  redbucl 
it.    These  two 
lbs  in  the  Mis- 
ery where  from 
brests,  in  blos- 
rnolia.     It  has 
of  the  quinqui- 
cases   of  the 

r  view,  is  the 
long,  of  a  rich 
nailer  leaves  of 
ed  beauty.    In 
1  graceful  as  the 
laving  a   more 
'  a  rich  yellow. 
.  pawpaw  shrub, 
artioned  to  the 
he  same  yellow 
th,  is  to  us  one 
ed,  in  the  array 
Is,  like  those  of 
pulp  of  the  fruit 
It  has  the  same 
s,  cream,  sugar 
e  relish  of  most 
to  the  savages, 
ided  in  it,  it  is 
axes  to  a  smile, 

this  tree,  which 
i  a  copious  gum, 
jmble  those  of  a 
3n  horse  plumb 
ned  by  the  frost 
bs  to  considera- 
y  ripened,  it  is 
f  the  best  kinds 


a: 


wore  cullirritcd,  aiul  punlinMnd  fioin  hryniid  llio  sens,  it  would  probably 
bciiuich  luoro  known,  find  uncd,  fli;in  it  now  is. 

Wild  plumbs.  Tlio  Cliickiisivw  pluinl)  is  romnion  from  34°  to  the 
j/nlf  of  Mexico,  h  is  found  in  the  «jfroatost  nbundiincc,  and  ripens  early 
in  Juno,  j'riiirio  plumbs  nrv  most  Jibnndant  in  Illinois  and  Missouri, 
nn  the  linzio  pniirics.  TIk  y  nro  of  various  si/.cs  and  flavors.  Their 
general  color  is  roddisli,  and  llifir  flavor  tint.  Some  of  Ihcm  arc  large 
and  delicious.  For  an  expciiirient  of  llio  yield,  two  bushels  were  gath- 
ered from  one  tree.  In  i)l!iees  lliey  Jiro  found  in  inconceivable  quanti- 
ties, the  surface  of  acres  heiiiu  red  with  them.  The  yellow  Osage  plumbs, 
of  this  class,  when  tlio  better  kinds  arc  cultivated,  arc  among  the  most 
dclicioiis  plumbs,  wc  have  calen.  So  rich  and  delightful  a  fruit,  and  so 
easily  cultivated,  well  deserves  to  be  transplanted  to  tJic  Atlantic  country. 

Crab  apple,  pyrtificoronaria.  In  the  middle  regions  of  the  valley,  on 
prairies  of  a  particular  description,  there  arc  great  tracts  covered  with  an 
impenetrable  mat  of  crab  ap|)le  shrubs.  The  form,  color  and  fragrance 
of  the  blossoms  arc  precisely  like  the  blossoms  of  the  cultivated  apple 
tree.  Wiicn  the  southern  breeze  comes  over  a  large  tract  of  these  shrubs 
in  full  blossom,  it  is  cliarged  with  a  concentrated  fragrance  almost  too 
•strong  to  be  grateful. — They  arc  useful  as  stocks,  in  which  the  culti- 
vated apple  and  pear  tree  may  be  engrafted. — Their  fruit,  when  properly 
prepared,  makes  the  finest  of  cider;  and  the  apple  is  much  used,  as  a 
preserve. 

Mull>erry.  There  arc  said  to  be  two  species  in  Lie  country;  the 
white,  and  the  black.  Wo  have  never  seen  the  white  indigenous;  but 
.have  so  often  lieard  it  asserted  to  exist,  as  a  native,  that  we  are  compelled 
to  credit  it. — The  common  nudberry  is  the  black,  and  it  is  found  in  every 
part  of  the  valley,  that  we  liave  seen.  In  some  places,  it  constitutes  no 
inconsiderable  proportion  of  the  timber.  We  have  seen  whole  groves  of 
small  and  young  trees,  apparently  in  tiie  right  stage  to  be  useful  for 
feeding  the  silk  worm.  Experience  has  demonstrated,  that  the  worm 
thrives  on  these  leaves,  and  that  the  product  is  of  good  quality.  The 
wide  dillusion,  and  the  great  prevalence  of  the  mulberry,  the  general  • 
temperature  of  tjjc  valley,  and  the  condition  and  habits  of  the  people, 
clearly  indicate  to  them,  that  this  country  ought  to  devote  itself  exten- 
sively to  the  making  of  silk.  »     j;^:.,  : 

Jn  tliis  country  of  forests,  and  where  there  are  such  numbers  and 
varieties  of  trees,  wc  might  select  many  other  interesting  ones  for  de^ 
scription ;  perhaps  sonic  of  them  more  so,  than  those,  which  we  have 
here  attempted  to  describe.  The  necessary  brevity  of  our  limits  forbids 
our  enlarging.  From  Michaux  we  learn,  that  our  trees  are  larger,  taller, 
rmd  more  of  them  useful  for  timber,  than  those  of  Europe.     The  forest   * 

•"•      ,     ,  7  % 


MISMISmiMM    VAM.IJV. 


has  as  a  general  i>liy8ioffiioiiiy,;m  itspcctdf  luxniTiiicOjwIiiclidisrriiniimtc.s 
it  to  the  iiu)8t  HU|ierfi(ial  oljscrvor,  fnuii  lliat  on  the  ollici  uido  of  tlio 
mountains.  W(»  may  add,  that  the  vari(>lic'S  ot*  tiros  of  the  same  class 
appear  to  be  more  niiincroiis.  We  apprehend,  that  most  of  the  trees  of 
that  region  are  found  here,  uhiU^  a  nimilxroftlio  Irors  hero  are  peculiar  to 
tliis  valley.  Trees  of  the  name  clasn  lieie  are  inferior  to  those,  that  are 
there,  for  the  same  uses,  as  fiinl)er.  They  arc  leas  tough,  elastic  and 
durable.  Wo  may  add,  that  the  pjno  forests  of  the  south  contain  count- 
less millions  of  tall  und  straight  pines,  and  would  furnish,  without 
sensible  diminution,  masts  and  spars  for  all  the  navies  in  the  world. 


Vines  AND  CiiEEiTRs.  The  common  grapevine,  vith  syhrstris,  is 
diffused  through  all  the  climates.  Nothing  is  so  familiar  to  the  eye  of  a 
traveller  in  this  country,  as  soon  as  ho  enters  on  the  richer  lands,  as  to 
see  vines,  often  of  a  prodigious  size,  that  are  perpendicularly  attached 
at  the  top  branches,  sixty  or  eighty  feet  from  tiie  ground;  and  at  a  great 
lateral  distance  from  the  tnmk  of  the  tree.  It  is  a  standing  puzzle  to  a 
young  man,  first  brought  into  tlioso  woods,  to  task  his  ingenuity,  by 
putting  him  to  account  for  the  manner,'  in  whicli  a  vine,  perhaps  nearly  of 
the  size  of  the  human  body,  lias  been  able  to  roar  itself  to  such  a  height. 
There  can  be,  however,  no  donl>i,  that  the  vine  in  this  case  is  coeval 
with  the  tree;  that  the  tree,  as  it  grew,  roared  the  vine;  and  that  the  vino 
receded  from  the  trunk,  with  tlic  projection  of  the  lateral  branches,  until, 
in  the  lapse  of  time,  this  singular  ai)pcarancc  is  presented.  In  many 
places,  half  the  trees  in  a  Ijottom  are  covered  with  those  vines.  In  the 
deep  forests,  on  the  liills,  in  the  barrens,  in  tiie  hazle  prairies,  and  in  the 
pine  woods,  every  form  and  size  of  the  grape  vino  presents  itself.  Wc 
presume,  there  is  no  scientific  and  ceuiplete  description  and  arrangement 
of  these  vines.     The  most  obvious  ])'  ipular  division  follows. 

Winter  grape,  vitishycmaUs.  Tins  is  the  large  vine,  that  so  generally 
clings  to  the  trees  in  the  alluvial  fore  i<.  The  leaves  are  large,  and  of  a  fine 
rich  green;  intermediate,  between  tlie  size  of  the  leaves  of  the  cultivated 
grape,  and  the  fox  grape.  They  elimb  to  the  top  of  the  highest  trees  of 
the  forest.  Probably,  not  more  tlian  one  in  fifty  of  them  bears  any  fruit 
at  all.  The  fruit,  when  produced,  is  a  small  circular  berry,  not  unlike 
the  wild  black  cherry.  It  is  nustcrc,  sour  and  unpleasant,  until  it  hag 
been  melldwed  by  the  frosts  oi  winter.  But  it  is  said,  when  fermented 
by  thqpe,  who  have  experience  in  the  practice,  to  make  a  tolerable 
wine. 

Summer  grape,  ivVJsccsA/r./.  We  iiave  never  seen  it  iii  deep  bottoms. 
It  is  found  on  the  rolling  barrens,  and  the  hazle  priarics.  It  has  a  larger 
leaf,  than  the  former  vine;  and  the  wood  of  the  vine  is  finely  colored  of 


* 


■(■St. 


t 


VINKH    AM)    t  UliEl'tns. 


61 


luliHcriininatcs 
ci  BJdo  ol'  llio 
the  siimo  class 
of  the  trees  of 
3  nropeciilitirto 

those,  llmt  arc 
i^rh,  elastic  and 

contain  count- 
irnish,  without 
tlie  world. 

h  ftyh'cstris,  is 
r  to  the  eye  of  a 
:her  lands,  as  to 
cularly  attached 
;  find  at  a  great 
ding  puzzle  to  a 
is  ingenuity,  by 
(crhaps  nearly  of 
to  such  a  height, 
is  case  is  coeval 
ind  that  the  vino 
branches,  until, 
ntcd.     In  many 
3  vines.    In  the 
iries,  and  in  the 
3nts  itself.     Wc 
ind  arrangement 
ws.  . 

lat  so  generally 
rge,  and  of  a  fine 
of  the  cultivated 
highest  trees  of 
1  bears  any  fruit 
jerry,  not  unlike 
lant,  until  it  has 
when  fermented 
make  a  tolerable 

n  deep  bottoms. 
It  has  a  larger 
finely  colored  of 


n  bliif'ish  purple.  Tin;  grnpc  is  luovv  tliaii  twice  the  size  of  the  winter 
gnipc,  is  ripr  in  the  lirst  month  in  iiutiuiiiii  iiiid  wlrn  matured  under  the 
i'lill  iiillueiicc  of  the  sun,  is  ii  picisant  fruil.  it  grows  in  the  greatest 
iilumdiincc;  l)ut  is  too  (hy  a  gmpc  to  lu'  picsscd  for  wine. 

June  grape,  rith  rcnidli.'i.  'I'his  is  a  small,  sweet  griipe,  found  on  the 
islimds  of  the  upper  Mississip|)i  iind  Illinois,  that  ripens  in  June.  Wo 
have  seen  the  vint;;  but  have  never  lasted  the  fruit.  It  is  said  to  be  the 
grnpe,  of  which  the  French,  in  the  early  periods  of  their  establishment  in 
this  country, used  to  make  win*-.  Various  animals  prey  upon  it;  and  it 
has  almost  disappeared  from  (he  eotuilry. 

Parsley  leavoil  water  grape,  ritin  aqiuUica.  We  have  never  seen 
this  vine  in  bearing. 

Fox  grape,  r/yW.v  ripuriii,  is  of  the  same  size,  form  and  ({uality  with  the 
same  s[)ecie3  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains.     It  is  very  uncommon. 

Muscadine  grape,  rifit  rcrnico/id.  'VWu  vine  strongly  designates 
climate.  It  is  t^eldom  s(;en  north  of  JJP  Soulli  of  that  it  becomes 
abundant.  It  is  found  in  the  decpalluvial  forests  clinging  to  the  tall  trees. 
The  vine  is  smooth,  and  of  a  lino  olive  green ;  and  the  leaves  are  smaller, 
than  those  of  the  cultivated  grape.  The  Iruit  grows  in  more  sparse 
clusters, than  those  of  other  grapes.  Like  other  fruits,  they  fall  as  they 
ripen,  and  furnish  a  rich  treat  to  bears,  and  other  animals,  that  feed  on 
tbem.  The  grape  is  of  the  size  of  a  plund^;  of  a  fine,  purple  black;  witli 
a,  thick,  tough  skin,  tasting  not  unlike  the  rind  of  an  orange.  The  pulp 
is  deliciously  sweet,  but  is  rei)uled  unwholesome. 

Pine  woods  grape.  In  ignorance  of  its  proper  designation,  we  shall 
call  it  vitls  hinnilior  from  its  habit  of  creeping  on  the  ground.  It 
is  agreed,  that  there  arc  varieties  of  this  fine  grape,  which  from  the 
frequent  burning  of  the  pine  woods,  is  becoming  uncommon.  It  is  sur- 
prising, how  little  curiosity  has  been  excited,  even  where  it  grows,  by 
this  rich  fruit.  It  has  a  slender,  blueish  purple  vine,  that  runs  on  the 
nround  among  the  grass.  It  ripens  in  the  month  of  June;  is  large  cone 
shaped,  transparent,  with  four  .seeds,  reddish  purple;  and  is  a  fine  fruit 
for  eating. 

On  the  sandy  plains  at  the  sources  of  Arkansas  and  red  river,  the  gen- 
tlemen of  Long's  expedition  concur  with  hunters  and  travellers,  in  relating 
that  they  found  large  tracts  of  sand  plain,  from  which  grew  a  grape,  which, 
we  infer  from  the  description,  to  bo  of  the  same  species  of  the  pine 
woods  grape.  They  have  described  the  clusters  to  be  large  and  deli- 
cious; and  that  the  sand,  drifting  about  them,  covers  up  tlie redundant 
vegetation,  performing  the  best  operation  of  pruning  on  the  vine.  The 
sun,  too,  strongly  reflected  from  a  surface  of  sand,  must  have  a  powerful 
influence  to  mature  them.    It  is  posssible,  that  some  of  the  admirationi 


m  MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 

which  has  been  felt,  in  scoinf^  such  sterile  tracts  covered  with  these 
abundant  and  rich  chisters,  and  the  high  zest,  with  which  they  were 
devoured,  may  have  been  owino'  to  the  surprise  of  linding  such  a  phe- 
nomenon in  contrast  with  a  white  and  moving  sand,  and  eating  the  fruit 
under  associations  created  by  hunger  and  tliirst. 

The  universal  diffusion  of  such  numbers  and  varieties  of  the  vine 
would  seem  to  indicate  this  valley  to  possess  a  natural  aptitude  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  vine.  It  would  be  an  experiment,  it  would  appear,  well 
worth  the  trial,  to  engraft  or  bud  every  variety  of  the  cultivated  grape  on 
the  stocks  of  each  of  these  native  varieties.  It  is  possible,  that  the  exotics 
might  thus  be  at  once  acclimated;  and  it  is  not  unlikely,  that  changes 
might  be  produced  in  them  favorable  to  their  enduring  the  climate,  and 
to  their  flavors  and  vinous  properties, 

Bignonia  radicans  is  a  creeper,  beautiful  for  its  foliage  and  flowers. 
It  has  a  vine  of  a  grayish  white  color,  and  long  and  delicate  spike  shaped 
leaves  in  alternate  sets.  It  climbs  the  largest  trees  in  preference,  mounts 
to  their  summits,  and  displays  a  profusion  of  large,  trumpet  shaped 
flowers,  of  flame  color.  Planted  near  a  house,  in  two  or  three  seasons  a 
single  vine  will  cover  a  roof,  throwing  its  fibrous  and  parasitic  roots  so 
strongly  under  the  shingles,  as  to  detach  them  from  the  roof. 

I\7.  There  are  varieties  of  this  creeper.  Every  traveller  in  the  rich 
alluvions  has  been  impressed  with  the  spectacles  exhibited  there,  of 
the  thousands  of  large  and  lofty  columns  of  the  cotton  wood,  wreathed 
from  the  ground  to  the  branches  with  an  architectural  drapery  of  this 
deep  verdure.  We  have  seen  huge  trunks  of  dead  trees  so  ornamented. 
It  is  one  of  those  charms  of  nature,  that  never  tire  on  the  eye.  It  Ls 
thus,  that  nature  ornaments  the  pillars  of  her  great  temple,  to  fit  it 
to  inspire  delight  and  adoration  in  the  solitary  worshipper. 

Supple-jack.  We  have  first  remarked  this  creeper  in  about  latitude 
35°  The  vine  resembles  that  of  the  muscadine  grape;  but  the  olive 
color  is  deeper.  It  is  well  known  to  attach  itself  so  strongly  to  the 
shrub  it  entwines,  as  to  cause  those  curious  spiral  curves  and  inner 
flattenings,  that  give  its  singularity  and  value  to  the  supple-jack  cane. 
The  foliage  of  the  vine  is  an  exact  copy  in  miniature  of  that  of  the 
China  tree.  Ths  richness  of  its  verdure,  the  impervious  thickness  of 
its  dark  green  foliage,  and  the  profusion  of  deep  black  berries  witl) 
which  it  is  covered,  would  render  it  a  beautiful  creeper  with  which 
to  cover  a  pavilion,  or  a  piazza. 

There  is  a  creeper,  which  we  have  not  seen  noticed  by  travellers 
or  botanists,  and  which,  indeed,  we  have  not  often  seen  ourselves,  and 
then  only  on  the  margin  of  the  Mississippi,  between  New  Madrid  and 
mouth  of  the  Arkansas.     Its  vine  and  foliacfe  somewhat  resemble 


ige 


I 


*■ 


# 


% 


^^ 


'?§.; 


VINES   AND  CREEPERS. 


53 


red  with  these 
?l»ch  they  were 
ng  such  a  phe- 
ealing  the  fruit 

ies  of  the  vine 
iptitudefor  the 
aid  appear,  well 
tivated  grape  on 
that  the  exotics 
y, that  changes 
he  climate,  and 

\20  and  flowers, 
ate  spike  shaped 
iference,  mounts 
trumpet  shaped 
r  three  seasons  a 
parasitic  roots  so 
roof. 

eller  in  the  rich 

hibited  there,  of 

wood,  wreathed 

drapery  of  this 

so  ornamented. 

the  eye.     It  is 

ample,   to  fit  it 

ipper. 

about  latitude 

le;  but  the  olive 

strongly  to  the 

urves  and  inner 

upple-jack  cane. 

of  that  of  the 

MIS  thickness  of 

ck  berries  with 

per  with  which 

3d  by  travellers 
ourselves,  and 
«4ew  Madrid  and 
ewhal  resemble 


tliose  of  the  supple-jack.  Wc  never  saw  it  climbing  slnubs  more  than 
ten  feet  in  height.  The  flowers  were  long  and  rich  tufted  wreaths, 
on  small,  flexile,  twiny  stems,  and  much  resembling  the  purple 
blossoms  of  the  pea.  They  were  gathered  for  the  garnishing  of  the 
chimney  places  of  the  cabins;  and  we  have  seen  no  flowers,  that  ex- 
ceeded them  in  splendor  and  beauty. 

The   rich  alluvial  districts  of  the  lower  country  of  the  Mississippi 
and  its  tributaries  are  tangled  with  creepers,  of  various  kinds,  foliage 
and  forms.     Some  of  them  are  annual,  and  some  perennial.     Many  of 
them,  as  far  as  our  knowledge  extends,  are  non-descripts. 

Cane,  arundo  gigantea,  vel  miegia  macrospcrma. —^ome  assert  that, 
the  low  and  bastard  cane  and  the  tall  reed  cane  are  the  same  species,  and 
ditfcr  only  in  size  and  height.     Others,  and  it  is  the  prevalent  opinion, 
assert,  that  they  are  varieties.     Every  one  has  seen  this  reed  in  the  form, 
in  which  it  is  used  for  angling  rods.     It  grows  on  the  lower  courses  of  the 
Mississippi,  Arkansas  and  Red  river,  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  in  height. 
We  have  seen  some,  in  these  rich  soils,  that  would  almost  vie  in  size  with 
the  bamboo.     The  leaves  are  of  a  beautiful  green — long,  narrow  and 
dagger  shaped,  not  unlike  those  of  Egyptian  millet.     It  grows  in  equidis- 
tant joints,  perfectly  strait,  almost  a  compact  mass;  and  to  us,  in  winter 
especially,  is  the  richest  looking  vegetation,  that  we  have  ever  seen.  The 
smallest  sparrow  would  find  it  difficult  to  fly  among  it;  and  to  see  its  ten 
thousand  stems,  rising  almost  contiguous  to  each  other,  and  to  look  at  the 
impervious  roof  of  verdure,  which  it  forms  at  its  top,  it  has  the  aspect 
of  being  a  solid  layer  of  vegetation.     A  man  could  not  make  three  miles 
in  a  day  through  a  tluck  cane  brake.     It  is  the  chosen  resort  of  bears  and 
panthers,  which  break  it  down,  and  make  their  way  into  it,  as  a  retreat 
from  man.     It  indicates  a  dry  soil,  above  the  inundation,  and  of  the 
richest  character.     The  ground  is  never  in  better  preparation  for  maize, 
than  after  this  prodigious  mass  of  vegetation  is  first  cut  down,  and  burned. 
Wiien  the  cane  has  been  cut,  and  is  so  dried,  as  that  it  will  burn,  it 
is  an  amusement  of  holiday  to  the  negroes,  to  set  fire  to  a  cane  brake,  thus 
prepared.    The  rarefied  air  in  the  hollow  compartments  of  the  cane  bursts 
them  with  a  report,  not  much  inferior  to  a  discharge  of  musquetry;  and 
the  burning  of  a  cane  brake  makes  a  noise  as  of  a  conflicting  army,  in  which 
thousands  of  muskets  are  continually  discjiarging.     This  beautiful  vege- 
ble  is  generally  asserted  to  have  a  life  of  five  years,  at  the  end  of  which 
period,  if  it  has  grown  undisturbed,  it  produces  an  abundant  crop  of 
seed,  with  heads  very  like  those  of  broom  corn.     The  seeds  are  farinace- 
ous, and  said  to  be  not  much  inferior  to  wlieat,  for  which  the  Indians; 
and  occasionally  the  first  settlers,  have  substituted  it.     No  prospect  so 


m 


54 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


impressively  shows  the  exuberant  prodigality  of  nature,  as  a  thick  cano 
brake.  Nothing  affords  sucli  a  rich  and  perennial  range  for  cattle,  sheep 
and  horses.  The  butter,  tliat  is  made  from  the  cane  pastures  of  this 
region,  is  of  the  finest  kind.  Tiie  sued  easily  vegetates  in  any  rich  soil. 
It  rises  from  the  ground,  like  t'lo  ricliost  asparagus,  with  a  large  succulent 
stem ;  and  it  grows  six  feel  high,  before  this  succulency  and  tenderness 
harden  to  wood.  No  other  vegetable  furnishes  a  fodder  so  rich,  or  abund- 
ant; nor,  in  our  view,  does  any  other  agricultural  project  so  strongly  call 
for  a  trial,  as  the  annual  sowing  of  cane,  in  regions  too  far  north  for  it 
to  survive  the  winter.     We  suppose,  this  would  be  in  latitude  39°. 

Gooseberry.  All  its  varieties  are  seen  indigenous  in  all  parts  of  this 
valley.  It  grows  to  a  great  height  and  size  in  the  middle  regions, 
and  covers  itself  with  fruit.  We  have  seen  in  Missouri  h  gooseberry 
liedge,  of  a  height,  compactness  and  thorny  imperviousnesfi,  to  turn  all 
kinds  of  cattle.  It  would  have  the  advantage  of  attaining  its  full  size 
in  three  or  four  years.  ^  «^ 

Privet.     This  beautiful  ornamental  shrub,  too  well  known  to  need 
description,  is  indigenous  to  various  parts  of  the  valley.     When  cln^--dy 
it  forms  a  compact  wall  of  verdure,  like  the  box,  used  for  the    . 
purposes  at  the  north. 

Hazle  bush.  Immense  tracts  of  the  prairies  are  covered  with  this 
bush;  and  the  nuts  arc  fine  and  abundant. 

The  whortleberry  is  not  so  common,  as  in  the  Atlantic  country;  but, 
where  it  does  grow,  is  of  great  size.  They  are  found  in  great  abundance, 
and  in  full  perfection,  at  the  bases  of  the  flint  knobs,  in  the  St.  Francis 
country,  and  along  the  upper  courses  of  White  river. 

We  have  seldom  seen  the  red  raspberry ;  but  it  is  said  to  grow  of  fine 
size  and  flavor,  from  the  middle  to  the  northern  regions  of  the  valley. 

Blackberries,  high  and  creeping,  are  found  in  prodigious  abundance? 
from  the  north  to  the  south. 

The  prairies,  in  many  places,  in  the  season,  are  red  with  fine 
strawberries. 

For  the  rest,  the  fruit  l)earing  shrubs  and  plants  do  not  materially 
differ  from  those  of  the  Atlantic  country.  With  the  exception  of  the 
strawberry  and  blackberry,  they  are  not  so  common  here,  as  there. 

Herbs,  Grasses  and  Flowering  Plants,  The  universal,  indigenous 
grass  of  this  country,  in  all  its  climates  and  extent,  covering  the  millions 
of  acres  of  the  prairies,  is  what  is  commonly  called  prairie  grass,  j^oa 
pratcnsis.  It  grows  equally  in  the  forests  and  barrens,  wherever  there 
is  an  interval,  sufficiently  unshaded  to  admit  its  growth. — It  is  tall, 
coarse,  and  full  of  seeds  at  tlic  top;  and  when  ripe,  is  rather  too  wiry 
for  fodder.     It  is  cut  for  that  purpose  in  September.     If  it  were  cut 


% 


I 


1 


SL 


OF    On.VSSES    AND   PLANTS. 


55 


IS  a  thick  cane 
)r  cattle,  sheep 
astures  of  this 
n  any  rich  soil, 
arge  succulent 
ind  tenderness 
rich,  or  abund- 
io  strongly  call 
far  north  for  it 
ude  39°. 
11  parts  of  this 
middle  regions, 
i  Fi  gooseberry 
esfi,  to  turn  all 
ing  its  full  size 

nown  to  need 
When  clii""  id, 
for  the 

ered  with  this 

country;  but, 
eat  abundance, 
the  St.  Francis 

to  grow  of  fine 
f  the  valley, 
•us  abundance? 

red  with  fine 

not  materially 
cception  of  the 
as  there, 
sal,  indigenous 
ng  the  millions 
iric  grass,  />o« 
wherever  there 
th.— It  is  tall, 
ather  too  wiry 
If  it  were  cut 


'.11 


1 


earlier,  and  before  it  hud  lost  its  succulence  and  tenderness,  it  would, 
probably,  be  excellent  fodder.  As  it  is,  the  prairies  yield  inexhaustible 
quantities;  and  the  towns  and  villages  in  the  prairie  regions  are  copious- 
ly supplied.  When  young,  and  before  it  has  thrown  up  its  stems,  it  re- 
sembles wheat  in  appearance.  We  have  seen  cattle,  turned  into  the 
wheat  fields  in  the  spring,  to  eat  down  the  redundant  growth  of  wheat, 
feed  on  the  grass  along  the  margins  of  the  fields  in  preference  to  tho 
wheat. 

The  only  grass,  that  yields  a  fine,  soft  sward,  is  called  blue  grass,  and 
is  not  unlike  the  common  spear  grass  of  New  England.  We  are  not 
satisfied,  whether  it  be  indigenous,  or  not.  We  have  constantly  observed 
it  growing  about  deserted  houses,  and  Indian  villages.  On  the  upper 
prairies  of  Illinois,  it  is  said  in  many  places  to  be  displacing  the  prairie 
grass.  It  seems  to  be,  like  the  robin-redbreast,  attached  to  the  abodes  of 
civilized  man.  .       "       • 

We  have  recently  read,  that  in  the  wet  prairies  of  Illinois  and  Indiana,, 
the  fowl  meadow  grass  of  New  England. was  growing  in  abundance. 
Whether  this  be  fact,  or  not,  whoever  would  introduce  this  valuable  grass 
to  notice  in  the  wet  prairies  of  the  West  would  be  a  benefactor  to  that 
region. 

The  rush,  cquisctum  hycmalc,  grows  on  bottoms,  in  grounds  of  an 
intermediate  elevation,  between  those  of  the  cane  brake  and  the  deep 
overflow.  It  is  found,  of  a  humbler  growth,  quite  to  the  sources  of  the 
Mississippi.  But  it  finds  its  full  dcvclopement  between  36°  and  33°^ 
We  have  travelled  among  tliis  f  vass,  a  perfect  mat,  as  high  as  the  shoulders^ 
Nothing  can  exceed  tlie  brilliance  of  its  verdure,  especially,  when  seert 
in  winter,  in  contrast  with  the  universal  brown.  Where  it  grows  high  and' 
thick,  it  is  difficult  to  make  way  tlirough  it;  and  it  has  a  disagreeable' 
kind  of  rustling,  which  produces  the  sensation,  that  is  called  setting  the- 
teeth  on  edge.  In  northern  regions  its  tubular  stock  is  apt  to  fill  witte 
compact  icicles.  It  is  well  known  to  be  the  favorite  range  of  horses  and* 
cattle,  and  is  devoured  by  them  with  more  greediness,  than  even  cane.- 
When  filled  with  ice,  and  thus  swallowed,  it  produces  a  chill  in  the 
stomach  of  the  cattle,  that  is  apt  to  prove  fatal.  To  the  cattle  and  horse" 
boats,  that  descend  the  Mississippi,  it  is  an  invaluable  resource.  The' 
cattle  and  horses,  pent  up  and  immovable  in  tiiesc  floating  barns,  for 
many  days  in  succession,  are  turned  loose,  and  find  holiday  pasture  in' 
this  rich  range. 

Pea  vine.  Tliis  is  a  small,  fibrous  vine,  that  covers  the  soil  in  the 
richer  forest  lands.  It  receives  its  name  from  the  resemblance  of  it* 
leaves  and  flowers  to  those  of  the  cultivated  pea.  It  is  a  rich  and  almost 
universal  forest  range  for  cattle;  but  when  once  eaten  down,  is  not  apt 


M, 


i>" 


-Ml 


88 


MISSISSIITI    VALLEY. 


to  renew  itself.  Of  course,  it  disappears  in  the  vicinily  of  compact 
population. 

Swamp  grass.  This  grass  is  found  in  low,  wet  and  miry  swamps,  on 
hassocks  elevated  above  the  water.  It  is  of  the  brightest  verdure, 
remaining  green  through  tlio  frosts  of  winter.  It  seems  to  be  the  same 
grass,  which  grows  in  boggy  meadows  in  New  England.  Its  sharp  edges, 
when  drawn  rapidly  tluough  the  fingers,  cut  them.  In  the  middle  regions 
of  the  valley,  cattle  are  driven  to  these  swamps,  to  subsist  through 
the  winter. 

Wild  rice,  zizania  aquatica,  vcl  fatuis  avena.  By  the  French,  follcs 
avoines.  By  the  Indians,  mcnomcnc.  It  is  found  in  the  greatest  abund- 
ance on  the  marshy  margins  of  the  northern  lakes,  and  in  the  plashy 
waters  on  the  upper  courses  of  the  Mississijipi.  It  grows  in  those  regions 
on  a  vast  extent  of  country.  It  is  there,  that  the  millions  of  migrating 
water  fowls  fatten,  before  they  take  their  autumnal  migration  to  the 
south.  It  is  there,  too,  that  the  northern  savages,  and  the  Canadian 
traders  and  hunters,  find  their  annual  supplies  of  grain.  But  for  this 
resource,  they  could  hardly  exist.  It  is  a  tall,  tubular,  reedy,  water  plant, 
Hot  unlike  the  bastard  cane  of  the  southern  countries.  It  very  accurate- 
ly resembles  the  cane  grass  of  the  swamps  and  Savannas  on  the  gulf  of 
Mexico.  It  springs  up  from  waters  of  six  or  seven  feet  in  depth,  where 
the  bottom  is  soft  and  muddy.  It  rises  nearly  as  high  above  the  water. 
Its  leaves  and  spikes,  though  much  larger,  resemble  those  of  oats,  from 
which  the  French  give  it  its  name.  Its  culm  is  jointed,  as  large  as  the 
little  finger;  leaves  broad,  and  linear,  panicle  more  than  a  foot  in  length; 
the  lower  branches  with  spreading  barren  flowers,  the  upper  with  fertile 
Rnd  erect  ones.  The  seeds  are  blackish,  smooth  narrow,  cylindrical, 
about  three  quarters  of  an  inch  long,  deciduous.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
discovered  in  the  brooks  of  Massachusetts.  When  it  is  intended  to  be 
preserved  for  grain,  the  spikes  arc  bound  together,  to  preserve  them  from 
the  ravages  of  birds  and  water  fowls,  that  prey  upon  them  in  immense 
numbers.  It  thus  has  a  chance  to  ripen.  At  the  season  for  gathering  it, 
canoes  are  rowed  among  the  grain.  A  blanket  is  spread  upon  them,  and 
the  grain  is  beaten  upon  the  blankets.  It  is,  perhaps,  of  all  the  cerea- 
lia,  except  maize,  the  most  prolific.  It  is  astonishing,  amidst  all  our 
eager  and  multiplied  agricultural  researches,  that  so  little  attention  has 
been  bestowed  upon  this  interesting  and  valuable  grain.  It  has  scarcely 
been  known,  except  by  Canadian  hunters  and  savages,  that  such  a  grain, 
the  resource  of  a  vast  extent  of  country,  existed.  It  surely  ought  to  be 
ascertained  if  the  drowned  lands  of  the  Atlantic  country,  and  the  immense 
marshes  and  stagnant  lakes  of  the  south,  will  grow  it.  It  is  a  mistake, 
that  it  is  found  only  in  the  northern  regions  of  this  valley.    It  grows  in 


grain, 


MEDICINAL  PLANTS. 


57 


perfection  on  the  lakes  about  Natchitoches,  south  of  32°;  ahd  might, 
probably,  be  cultivated  in  all  climates  of  the  valley.  Though  a  hardy 
plant,  it  is  subject  to  some  of  tlic  accidents,  that  cause  failure  of  the 
other  grains.  The  grain  has  a  long,  slender  hull,  much  resembling  that 
of  oats,  except  that  it  is  longer  and  darker.  In  detaching  this  hull,  the 
Indians  use  a  process  of  drying,  that,  probably,  in  most  instances  destroys 
its  germinating  principle.  Those,  who  have  found  this  grain  unpleasant, 
have,  perhaps,  eaten  it,  when  smoked,  and  badly  prepared.  There  is, 
probably,  the  same  difference  in  quality,  too,  as  m  other  grains.  The 
grain,  that  we  have  eaten,  was  as  white,  as  the  common  rice.  Puddings 
made  of  it  tasted  to  us,  like  those  made  of  sago. 

Palmetto,  chenuBrops  latanier.  This  is  a  perennial  plant,  strongly 
marking  climate.  It  conmiences  in  the  same  regions  with  long  moss, — 
that  is  to  say,  about  33°.  It  throws  up  from  a  large  root,  so  tough  as  to 
be  cut  with  difficulty  by  an  axe,  and  hard  to  be  eradicated  from  the  soil, 
large,  fan  shaped  palms,  of  the  most  striking  and  vivid  verdure,  and  ribbed 
with  wonderful  exactness.  It  indicates  a  deep  swampy  soil,  and  grows 
six  feet  in  height. — The  infallible  index  of  swampy,  and  southern  climate, 
and  having  no  resemblance  to  any  plant,  seen  at  the  north,  its  foreign 
aspect,  and  its  deep  green  unchanged  by  winter,  when  first  seen  by  the 
immigrant  from  the  north,  with  a  surprise  connected  with  rather  unpleas- 
ant associations,  strongly  reminds  him,  that  he  is  a  stranger,  and  in  a  new 
country.  It  is  used  by  the  savages,  and  the  poorer  Creoles,  as  thatch  for 
their  cabins;  and  from  the  tender  shoots  of  the  season,  properly  prepared, 
a  very  useful  kind  of  summer  hats,  called  palmetto  hats,  is  manu- 
factured. 

Medicinal  Plants.  On  this  head,  but  little  is  yet  known  of  this 
country;  and  that  little,  except  the  most  obvious  points,  falls  within  the 
proper  limits  of  description  by  a  physician.  In  a  climate  so  various,  a 
soil  so  prolific,  and  a  flora  so  immense,  as  that  of  the  prairies,  where  such 
an  infinite  vanety  of  plants  and  flowers  is  renewed,  and  perishes  every 
season,  and  in  a  country  so  fresh,  it  may  be  readily  conceived,  that  the 
medicinal  properties  of  but  very  few  of  the  plants  have  been  sufficiently 
experimented.  Most  of  the  medicinal  plants  of  the  Atlantic  country  are 
found  here;  and  many,  that  are  peculiar  to  this  region. 

Varieties  of  the  hop  are  natives  of  the  country ;  and  the  hazle  prairies 
have  their  clumps  of  hazle  bushes  often  surmounted  with  the  beautiful 
wreathings  of  the  clusters  of  the  common  hop. 

Virginia  snake  root;  a  species  of  ipecacuanna,  called  Indian  physic; 
American  columbo;  frasera  Caroliniensis,  a  plant  growing  six  feet 
high,  and  covering  itself  with  brilliant  flowers;  thoroughwort,  upatorium 

8 

)■*»•■ 


-^ 


66 


MISSISSIPPI    VAU.EY. 


'%■• 


I 


pcrfoliatum;  ginscnjj;  all  the  varieties  of  tlic  mints;  blood  root,  satigui- 
nana  Canadcnsifi; — tliosc  plants  arc  commmon,  and  widely  difPnsed. 

Miiy  api)\G,  'podoplii/lhnii  prlfcifiniu  is  a  hoautifnl  plant,  thai  completely 
covers  the  ground,  wlu're  it  grows,  with  tlio  frosliest  and  most  cheering 
verdure  of  spring.  Tl  has  a  handsome  while  blossom,  and  bears  a  fruit 
of  the  appearance  and  taste  of  a  lemon.  Its  root  is  a  powerful  cathartic, 
and  has  been  successfully  introduced  into  medicine  as  a  substitute 
for  jalap. 

Seneka,  j)oh/gala  scnclca;  American  senna,  cassia,  manlandica;  poke 
weed,  phi/tollacca  dccandria,  Oswc<rti  tea,  monardakalmiana;  poison  su- 
mach, r/tws  vcrnix;  solamnn  «/§■?•//?/?,  or  nightshade;  wakerobin, /riZZiwOT 
cermnim;  golden  rod,  solidago  odora;  missletoe,  viscum  album;  hore- 
hound,  &c. — arc  common. 

Strammony,  strammonrum  datura,  a  poisonous  weed,  perniciously 
common  through  the  western  country.  On  the  richest  bottoms,  it  grows 
fifteen  feet  in  height,  and  of  a  size  and  compactness,  to  prevent  cattle 
from  running  among  it.  It  has  splendid  flowers,  and  a  great  quantity  of 
oily  seeds.  Its  smell  is  nauseous;  ad  it  is  a  common,  and  annoying 
tenant  of  the  villages  on  the  alluvial  margins  of  rivers.  In  some  places, 
no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  labor  on  the  highways  is  to  cut  up  this 
weed  from  the  roads  and  outlots  of  the  villages.  Its  popular  name  is 
jimson, — probably  a  corruption  of  Jamestown,  the  place,  whence  it  i& 
said  to  have  been  brouglit.     It  is  used  in  medicine  in  spasiiiodic  asthma. 

The  next  most  common  and  annoying  weed  along  the  roads,  especially 
in  Louisiana,  is  a  very  tall  plant,  resembling  cassia  marilandica.  It 
renders  the  paths,  and  the  banks  of  the  biiyous  in  that  region,  almost 
impassable  in  autumn,  until  the  cattle  hav^;  trodden  it  down. 

Cockle  burrs,  in  the  same  situations,  are  excessively  annoying  weeds, 
filling  the  outlots  and  uncultivated  phices  to  such  a  degree,  that  the  burrs 
attach  to  the  clothes  of  passengers,  and  mat  the  wool  of  sheep,  running 
among  them,  with  an  inextricable  tangle. 

Virginia  snake  root,  aristolochia  scrprntaria;  wormwood,  artemisia, 
all  the  varieties ;  southern  wood;  wormsced;  wild  liorehound,  cupatorium 
pilosmn,  black  henbane,  hyiscyamiis  nigra;  deadly  nightshade,  atropa 
belladona;  Indian  tobacco,  lobelia  infiata;  white  liorehound,  marrubium 
vulgai'c;  balm,  mclissa  officinalis;  among  the  mints — jjennyroyal,  wicn^/ta 
pulcgium,  growing  to  a  great  size;  sarsaparilla,  S7nilax;  Carolina  pink, 
sjngclia  marilandica;  common  nettle,  vrtica,  every  where  annoying  to 
the  summer  traveller  in  the  woods ;  valerian  officinalis,  common  on  the 
Ohio;  gentian;  all  the  species  of  the  violets;  prairie  wax  weed,  common 
in  the  prairies,  from  four  to  six  feet  high,  when  perforated,  exuding  a 
yellow,  terebenthine  wax  of  aromatic  smell,  and  to  w  liich  many  virtues 
are  ascribed  by  the  settlers. 


■X         'fir  . 


M. 


MEDICINAL   PLANTS. 


50 


We  could  easily  swell  this  catalogue  witli  the  names  of  a  hundred 
other  plants,  to  which  various  and  powcTul  medicinal  virtues  arc  ascrihed 
by  the  people.  We  could  add  1o  it  the  herbs,  which  are  cultivated,  as 
medicinal. — Wo  liave  merely  attcniplcd  a  brief  outline  of  the  most 
common  indigenous  medicinal  plants  of  the  valley.  Ahnost  every  family 
has  its  panaccum,  in  some  herb  or  plant,  which  that  family  has  exclusively 
experimented.  A  rich  harvest  for  exi)eriment  is  yet  reserved  for  the 
scientific  botanist  and  physician. 

The  common  kinds  of  aquatic  plants  arc  found  in  the  still  and  shallow 
waters  of  the  swamps;  particularly,  a  beautiful  hind  of  water  lily,  highly 
fragrant,  and  bearing  no  resemblance  to  llie  nymphca  odorata,  which  wo 
have  not  seen  here,  but  which  is  said  to  be  found  in  the  northern  regions 
of  the  valley.  A  singular  kind  of  aquatic  vegetation,  which  has  given 
rise  to  the  fiction  of  floating  islands  of  vegetation  on  these  waters, 
is  seen  to  cover  great  extents  of  shallow  lakes  and  muddy  bayous.  It 
appears,  indeed,  to  float  on  the  water;  and  great  masses  of  it,  no  doubt, 
often  are  detached,  and  seen  floating,  as  though  tliere  were  no  roots 
attached  to  the  soil  at  the  bottom.  But  we  have  examined  it,  and  found 
its  twiny  stem  of  many  yards  in  length,  bound  to  the  bottom  by  a 
thousand  fibrous  roots.  It  has  a  small,  beautiful,  elliptical  leaf,  and  a 
■diminutive,  but  delicate  white  flower.  We  have  sailed,  when  the  bow  of 
the  vessel  made  a  furrow  through  fields  of  this  curious  plant.  Under 
them  fishes  dart,  alligators  gambol,  and,  in  the  proper  season,  multi- 
tudes of  water  fowls  are  seen,  pattering  their  bills  among  theso 
■leaves.   We  liave  seen  this  plant  designated  by  the  name,  pistia  stratiotcs. 

Among  the  flowering  aquatic  plants,  there  is  one,  that  for  magnificence 
and  beauty  stands  unrivalled  and  alone.  Wc  have  seen  it  on  the  middle 
and  southern  waters;  but  of  the  greatest  size  and  splendor  on  the  bayous 
and  lakes  of  the  Arkansas.  K  has  dilfercnt  popular  names.  The  upper 
Indians  call  it  panocco.  It  is  designated  by  botanists  by  the  name 
nymphca  nclumho.  It  rises  from  a  root,  resembling  the  large  stump  of  a 
cabbage,  and  from  depths  in  the  water,  from  two  or  three  to  ten  feet.  It 
has  an  elliptical,  smooth  and  verdant  leaf,  some  of  the  largest  being  of 
the  size  of  a  parasol.  Theso  muddy  bayous  and  stagnant  waters  are 
often  so  covered  with  the  leaves,  that  the  sandpiper  walks  abroad  on  the 
surface  of  them,  without  dipping  her  foct  in  the  water. — The  flowers  are 
enlarged  copies  of  the  nymphca  odorata,  or  New  England  pond  lily. 
They  have  a  cup  of  the  same  elegant  conformation,  and  all  the  brilliant 
white  and  yellow  of  that  flower.  Tlicy  want  the  ambrosial  fragrance  of 
the  pond  lily;  and  resemble  in  this  respect,  as  they  do  in  their  size,  the 
flowers  of  the  laurel  magnolia.  On  the  whole,  they  are  the  largest  and 
most  beautiful  flowers,  that  wc  have  seen.  They  have  their  home  in 
dead  lakes,  in  the  centre  of  cypress  swamps.     Musquitos  swarm  above- 


-fe 


60 


MISSISSIPPI    TALLEY. 


'\ 


Obscene  fowls  nnd  carrion  vultures  wheel  their  flight  over  thcin.  Alli- 
gators swim  among  their  roots;  and  moccasin  snakes  bask  on  their  leaves. 
In  such  lonely  and  repulsive  situations,  under  such  circumstances,  and 
for  such  spectators,  is  arrayed  the  most  gaudy  and  brilliant  display  of 
flowers  in  the  creation.  In  the  capsule  are  embedded  from  four  to  si.\ 
acorn  shaped  seeds,  which  the  Indians  roast,  and  cat,  when  green;  or 
they  are  dried,  and  eaten,  as  nuts,  or  are  pulverized  into  meal,  and  form 
a  kind  of  bread. 

Wo  have  seen  a  large  yellow  flower  on  the  arid  blufls  of  that  high 
limestone  wall,  that  runs,  like  a  huge  parapet,  between  St.  Genevieve 
and  Herculaneum,  on  the  west  bank  of  tlie  Mississippi.  The  summit 
of  this  parapet  has  not  more  than  two  or  three  inches  of  soil,  and  is  bare 
of  all  vegetation,  but  a  sparse,  seared  grass.  It  was  under  the  burning 
sun  of  July,  when  every  thing,  but  these  flowers,  was  scorched.  The 
cup  of  the  flower  was  nearly  half  the  size  of  the  common  sunflower.  It 
rose  only  four  or  five  inches  from  the  soil,  and  covered  it,  as  with  gilding. 
We  have  seen  no  description  of  this  striking  flower,  nor  have  we  seen  it 
existing  elsewhere. 

Missletoe,  viscus  alba.  This  is  a  parasitic  plant,  which  attaches 
itself  to  the  body  and  larger  limbs  of  trees, — most  frequently  the  syca- 
more and  the  elm.  It  is  common  on  the  trees  along  the  banks  of  tlic 
Ohio,  from  Cincinnati  to  New  Orleans.  The  bright  green  masses  of 
*his  plant,  with  copious  clusters  of  transparent,  white  berries,  make  a 
very  singular  appearance  in  winter,  when  seen  clinging  to  the  naked 
branches.  This  is  the  plant,  to  which  the  Druids  were  said  to  pay 
divine  honors.  The  agglutinated  slime  of  its  berries  is  used  for  bird 
lime. 

Long  moss,  tillandsia  usneoides.  This  parasitic  and  singular  vegeta- 
tion is  first  seen  in  company  with  the  palmetto,  about  latitude  33°.  It 
hangs  down  in  festoons,  like  the  twiny  stems  of  weeping  willow.  It 
attaches  itself  of  choice  to  the  cypress,  and,  after  that,  to  the  acacia. 
These  pendent  wreaths  often  conceal  the  body  of  the  tree,  wlien  bare  of 
foliage,  to  such  a  degree,  that  little  is  seen,  but  a  mass  of  moss.  Waving 
in  the  wind,  they  attach  themselves  to  the  branches  of  other  trees,  and 
thjis  sometimes  form  curtains  of  moss,  that  darken  the  leafless  forest  of 
winter.  They  are  in  color  of  a  darkish  gray,  and  many  yards  in  length. 
The  moss  bears  a  small,  trumpet  shaped  flower,  of  peach  blow  color, 
and  seeds  still  finer,  than  those  of  tobacco. — Associated,  as  it  naturally 
is,  with  marshy  and  low  alluvions,  where  it  grows  in  the  greatest  profu- 
sion, and  with  the  idea  of  sickness,  this  dark  drapery  of  the  forest  has 
an  aspect  of  inexpressible  gloom.  It  is,  when  fresh,  a  tolerable  fodder 
for  horses  and  cattle,  and  the  deer  feed  upon  it  in  winter.  It  soon  dies 
on  dead  trees.    Prepared,  something  after  the  manner  of  water  rotted 


-4'^ 


W*"f 


// 


iVNIMALR. 


61 


in.  Alli- 
;ir  leaves, 
nces,  and 
Jisplay  of 
Dur  to  six 
green;  or 
and  form 

that  high 
jenevievo 
)e  summit 
nd  is  bare 
c  burning 
led.  The 
lower.  It 
;h  gilding, 
we  seen  it 

1  attaches 
J  the  syca- 
nks  of  tlic 
masses  of 
ts,  make  a 
the  naked 
id  to  pay 
id  for  bird 

ar  vegeta- 
e  33°.  It 
billow.  It 
he  acacia, 
len  bare  of 
;.  Waving 
trees,  and 
is  forest  of 
in  length, 
low  color, 
t  naturally 
est  profu- 

forest  has 
ble  fodder 

soon  dies 
ater  rotted 


jicmp,  the  bark  is  decomposed,  and  the  fibre  remains,  fine,  black,  strong, 
clastic,  and  apparanlly  incorruptible.  In  this  state,  in  appearance  and 
elasticity  it  resembles  horse  liair,  and,  like  that,  is  used  for  mattresses. 
Most  of  the  people  in  the  lower  country  sleep  on  them,  and  they  are  be- 
coming an  article  of  commerce  in  the  upper  country.  The  Creoles 
make  various  articles  of  harnessing,  as  horse  collars,  and  saddle  stuffing, 
of  this  article.  For  these  purposes,  considerable  quantities  are  exported 
to  the  upholsterers  and  carriage  makers  in  the  Atlantic  country. 

To  the  eye  of  a  naturalist,  no  doubt,  the  infinite  varieties  of  plants 
and  flowers  in  the  forests  and  on  the  prairies,  that  distract  the  gaze  of  a 
common  observer,  and  confound  all  his  attempts  to  class  them,  may  all 
have  an  easy  arrangement, '  a  local  hal)itation  and  a  name.'  To  another 
an  attempt  to  class  them  would  at  first  seem  like  numbering  the  drops  of 
dew,  that  fall  from  them.  The  friable  soil  of  the  western  country  does 
not  naturally  cover  itself  with  the  fine  sward  of  the  northern  Atlantic 
country.  It  is  the  region  of  coarse  grass,  tall  flowering  plants,  with 
gaudy  flowers;  and  to  an  unpractised  eye,  presents  a  flora  of  great 
variety.  We  have  not  presumed  to  give  the  above,  as  any  thing  moro 
tlian  the  sketch  of  a  catalogue.  Many  of  the  barks  of  the  trees  of  this 
valley  have  medicinal  qualities.  The  numbers,  forms  and  giganiic  heights 
of  these  weeds  and  plants  are  not  among  the  least  surprising  curiosities 
to  an  observer  of  nature. 

The  following  are  among  the  garden  flowers,  more  particularly  of  the 
southern  regions. 

Jessamines,  white,  cape,  Armenian  and  yellow.  Different  kinds  of 
sensitive  plants,  Spanish  dagger.  Primrose,  Jonquils,  white  and  yellow . 
Iris.  Blue  and  yellow  touch-me-not.  Violets.  Lilies.  Roses,  monthly, 
perpetual,  moss,  scarlet,  white,  Damascus,  multiflora,  bell.  Honeysuckle. 
Woodbine.  Flowering  pomegranate. — Bamboo.  Myrtle.  Altheas 
white  and  red.  Crape  myrtle.  Daffodil.  These  arc  the  common  flow- 
ers, where  they  are  not  curious  in  choice,  or  varieties.'* 

Anibials.  We  deem  it  useless  to  go  into  detail  in  the  account  of 
animals,  which  this  country  has  in  common  with  those  east  of  the  moun- 
tains. We  believe,  that  the  catamount,  a  ferocious  animal  formerly  seen 
in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  has  not  been  seen  west  of  the  mountains. 
There  is  a  much  greater  abundance,  if  not  variety  of  the  deer  kind  here. 

The  milder  winters,  the  deeper  forests,  the  more  luxuriant  pastures, 
the  greater  abundance  and  variety  of  the  nut  and  acorn  bearing  trees, 
the  more  multiplied  means  of  animal  subsistence,  would  give  reason  to 

*  For  catalogue  of  plants  and  flowers,  see  Appendix,  table  No.  III. 


03 


MlSfllSSIPPI    VALLEY. 


.Ml 


expect  a  greater  profusion  of  game.  Dorr,  from  pairs  to  twenty  togotlicr^ 
arc  so  common  asiglil,ev<'n  in  tlio  selllnl  country,  as  not  to  excite  nnicli 
surprise.— Bears,  in  the  middle  antl  settled  regions  of  tlie  valley,  are  not 
common;  and  n  licar  iiunt  is  there  a  matter  of  nctvelly  and  excitement. 
Buthigii  on  thcMississi|)pi  and  Missouri,  and  on  the  lower  conrses  of 
the  latter  river  and  its  trihntaries,  in  the  deep  cane  hrakes  and  swamps, 
bears  still  breed,  and  range  in  secinity;  and  the  planters  take  the  frecpient 
amusement  of  hunting  them.  Wo  landed  at  the  cabin  of  a  settler,  be- 
tween Wiiite  river  and  Arkansas,  who  showed  the  skins  of  twenty  bears, 
which  he  had  killed  that  season. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Illinois,  towards  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  southwest  of  the  Missouri,  on  the  ()s;ige,  and  other  wooded  streams 
in  that  direction,  bears  are  still  hunted  for  their  skins  and  their  oil. 
Bear's  oil,  which  is  very  li(piid,  transparent,  and,  when  not  rancid,  mild 
and  agreeable  to  the  taste,  is  in  those  regions  extensively  used,  as  a 
substitute  for  butter.  Tiic  hunters  ascend  the  streams  at  the  proper 
season  for  hunting  them,  and  pursue  tlie  bears  in  the  depth  of  the 
wilderness.  Tiiey  remain  for  the  sununer  season  in  the  woods.  Late 
in  Autumn  they  return  with  bearskins,  and  the  flesh  cured,  as  smoked 
middlings  of  pork,  and  not  unfrcquently  as  fat.  The  oil  is  put  into  a 
periogue;  and  wc  have  seen  a  hunter  paddling  one  pcriogue,  and  having 
another  lashed  and  balanced  alongside  full  of  oil. 

Venison  is  an  important  article  of  food,  and  of  sale  in  most  of  the 
hewer  villages  of  the  western  country.  Tlie  markets  in  the  larger 
towns  arc  sometimes  supplied  with  it.  It  furnishes  one  of  the  sub- 
stantial elements  in  the  subsistence  of  a  back  settler.  Hunting  the 
deer  is  the  standing  amusement  of  the  southern  planter.  A  night  hunt 
seldom  fails  to  furnish  a  number  of  these  animals.  In  the  northern 
regions,  and  about  the  sources  of  the  Mississijipi  and  INIissouri,  the  elk 
takes  the  place  of  the  deer.     The  moose  is  sometimes  seen  Avith  the  elk. 

In  the  vast  prairies  on  the  upper  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Arkansas  and 
Red  river,  and  in  all  the  space  beyond  a  belt  of  a  hundred  leagues  from 
white  settlements,  where  they  are  not  seen,  and  the  Rocky  mountains, 
the  bulTalo  is  the  grand  object  of  huntin.fr  and  subsistence  to  the  savages. 
The  flesh  is  the  chief  article  of  food,  not  only  of  the  Indians  of  those 
regions,  but  for  the  while  hunters  and  trappers.  The  skins  furnish  their 
dress,  and  the  couches,  the  seats,  and  the  ornamental  part  of  the  furni- 
ture of  their  cabins.  Tanned  and  stretched  on  tent  poles,  and  erected 
in  neat,  cone  shaped  tenls,  they  shelter  the  savages  in  their  distant 
migrations  from  their  villages.  The  bullalo  robes  furnish  one  of  their 
most  important  articles  of  commerce.  Hunting  the  bullalo  is  a  business 
of  great  solemnity,  and  one  of  the  most  important  functions  of  savage  life- 


Tl 


t^ 


-^ 


ANIMALS. 


63 


iteinmli 
',  arc  not 
[•itcmciit. 
ourscs  of 
swamps, 
}  froiiucnt 
eitlcr,  l)C- 
[ity  bears, 

ississippi, 
!(1  strcauiH 

tlicir  oil. 
icid,  mild 
used,  as  a 
the  proper 
)t]i  of  the 
kIs.  Late 
IS  smoked 

put  into  a 
:\nd  having 

lost  of  the 
the   larger 
f  the  sub- 
untinf];  the 
ni<fht  hunt 
northern 
ri,  llie  elk 
ith  the  elk. 
ansns  and 
"ues  from 
niountnins, 
le  savafi'cs. 
ns  of  those 
irnish  their 
f  the  furni- 
uid  erected 
eir    distnnt 
10  of  their 
a  businoHS 
savage  life- 


Kvcy  perpon  on^nped  in  it,  has  liis  proper  pont  of  honor,  nnd  his  point  of 
concert  with  the  rest.  'I'lie  hidinns  used  to  hunt  witii  bows  nnd  arrows, 
Imt  nre  now  ronnnonly  armed  witji  y^jjers.  The  attack  is  generally  on 
jiorseliiick.  Wiien  the  attMckini;  pnrty  have  n[)pro!ichcd  the  drove,  the 
ieli','ious  rites  are  rene\v(ul,  and  the  cavalcade,  in  confidetice  of  the  aid 
of  th(!  (ireat  Spirit,  dashes  upon  tlicMn.  To  be  successful,  the  horses 
must  be  both  neet,and  well  tnana^jcd.  It  often  ha])peiis,  that  the  older 
and  more  daring  animals  turn,  and  make  battle;  in  which  case  there  is 
danger  to  the  horse  of  being  gored,  and  of  the  rider  to  bo  slain. — The 
animal,  in  its  agony  and  wrath,  is  terrilile.  Somelimes,  when  feathered 
with  many  arrows,  or  |)ierced  with  many  balls  it  becomes  u  question, 
who  has  slain  it.  But  there  are  so  many  witnesses,  the  wound,  among 
many,  that  was  mortal,  is  so  accurately  ktiown,  and  it  is  so  vital  to 
their  peace,  that  all  this  should  be  settled  by  precedent,  that  in  the 
division  of  the  spoil,  disputes  seldom  occur.  Every  part  of  the  animal 
is  prepared  in  some  way  for  use.  A  part  is  preserved  fresh,  for  immedi- 
ate use.  The  fat  from  the  mtestines  is  melted,  skimmed,  and  put  into 
l)ladders  for  future  use,  iind  proves  an  agreeable  substitute  for  butter.  A 
])rotuberancc  on  the  shoulders,  called  the 'hump,'  is  the  choice  part  of 
the  animal.  The  return  of  such  a  party  from  a  successful  hunt  is  a  season 
of  the  highest  savage  holiday.  'J'hc  skins,  inwrought  into  all  the  furni- 
ture of  their  domestic  establishment,  so  vital  to  their  comfort,  and  the 
surplus  furnishing  their  principal  article  of  traflic,  are  entrusted  for  pre- 
l)aration,  as  are  all  their  more  laborious  kinds  of  drudgery,  to  the  squaws. 
This  a  very  material  part  of  Indian  labor.  The  method  of  preparing 
them  is  primitive  and  simple,  but  slow  and  laborious,  and  consists,  prin- 
cipally, in  smoking,  drying  and  rubbing  them.  When  dressed,  they  are 
soft,  pliant  and  durable.  By  the  juice  of  some  vegetable,  supposed  to  be 
saiipinnaria  Canadcnstfi,  fixed  by  a  process,  known  only  to  themselves, 
they  paint  lines,  iigures  and  devices  on  the  bull'alo  skins,  of  a  beautiful 
red  color,  that  retains  a  din^able  brilliance,  unchanged  by  the  sun  and 
air.  Among  these  animals,  as  among  domestic  ones,  there  arc  the  differ- 
ences of  size,  age,  and  beauty  and  deformity,  lean  and  fat.  The  males 
are  eatable,  only  for  a  part  of  the  year,  and  the  cows  are  most  sought  for 
lumting,  as  an  article  of  food.  No  wild  animal  has  a  more  noble  appear- 
ance, than  a  full  grown  male  buffalo.  It  has  been  said,  that  they  are  of 
the  same  species  with  domestic  cattle.  From  the  habits,  as  well  as  the 
appearance  of  the  animal,  we  should  think  not.  The  color  is  generally 
of  a  brownish  gray,  and  much  of  the  wool,  or  hair,  has  the  fineness  of  fur, 
and  by  the  English  is  wrought  into  articles  of  a  beautiful  fabric,  which  is 
becoming  an  article  of  manufacture.  They  have  burly  heads,  covered 
with  shaggy  wool ;  and  the  long  and  erect  hair  prevails  to  the  termina- 


MisKiNHiiTi  vai.i,i;y. 


(% 


tinn  of  tlio  Initiipliryond  llu>  lore  hIiouM<'ih.     TIk  y  liavo  siiiiill  iiihI  nliort 
lioriiH,  mil  iiior(>  than  i'oiir  or  five  inrlirH  in   Ictii^'tli,  niul,  roinpiiml  willi 
<loiii('Hli('  caltlc,  Htnall  and   finer  cyrs;  anil,   vi(>\V(<(l  alMo^M'tlirr,  liavo 
rnllirr  a  nava^r  and  nntlandisli  a|)|M>arinc(<.     Hnt,  in  firl,  llicy  t\w  tlio 
tumw  mild  atiinial  witli  tlirdoinrMlir  caMlc;  arr  easily  tainrd  and  dnincH- 
ficafrd;  and  llic  animals,  lliaf   spring'  fimn   the  mixliin;  of  lirri'ds,  aro 
Haid  tt>  unite  tlir  valuahic!  pr<)|M'ili('s  ol'  Itotli.     Their  lieef  is  generally 
preferred  to  that  of  thi<  domestic  ox.     The  ran<^'e  of  this  animal  us(mI  to 
oxtemlover  all  the  valley.     The  oyes  of  the  patriarchal '  residonlerH,'  who 
ilrnt  fixed  themselves  in  the  iinhrokeii   wilderness,   as  they  relate,  liow 
they  us«'d  to  sec  countless  iiumlM-rs  of  thesi- animals  scouring  the  thickets, 
hri^'hteii  in  tlio  n-lation,  and  view  the  pnsent  ord<'r  of  thin;js,  wliith  havo 
driven  these   animals  I'ar  to    tla^    wi'sf,  with    llu!  re;,frelH   of   liimti'rs. 
TIk'  whites,  wln>i»'ver  they  have  fixed  tliemselves,  have  waijed  upon  tlieiri 
a^rratuitous  war  of exterminatinn;  and  these  iimoceiil,  useful  and  iiolth^ 
animals  instinctively  lly  their  footstt^ps.     They  remain  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  sava^M's,  who  kill  no  more  of  them, than  Huhsistf'iice  or  profit  reipiires. 
The  white  hunters  have  destroyed  them  for  their  ton^'iies  only.     They 
still  ranjje  from  Re<l  riv(!r  of  the  north  to  the  populous  regions  of  Mexi- 
co;— but  lot  the  smallest  settleuuMit  of  whites  Ik;  fixed  in  tla-ir  vicinity, 
ami  the  animals  soon  int«;rposc  a  line  ofan  hiiudred  leagues  of  demar- 
cation between  them  and  their  enemies. 

On  the  northern  watiMS  of  the  Mississippi,  and  betweiMi  that  river  an<l 
(he  lakes,  the  niuskrat  and  otter  arc;  taken  in  «,'reut  uumbers  for  their 
furs.  The  flesh  of  the  muskrat  is  jnr/.ed  in  these  re<,Moiis,  by  the  Indians 
aa  a  delicacy.  We  have  been  present  at  these  liif,'hly  llavored  repasts, 
when  the  peculiar  smell  of  the  animal  perfumed  the  cabin. 

At  thesourcesofthi  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Yellowstone,  Platte,  White, 
Arkansas  and  Red  rivers,  and  on  all  their  tributaries,  that  have  courses  in 
iJic  Rocky  mountains,  tlie  great  object  of  pursuit,  both  by  the  hunters  and 
trapjx^rs,  white  and  savage,  is  the  beaver.  It  is  the  chief  source  of  gain 
to  tlic  savages;  their  dependence  for  their  supply  from  the  whites  of 
arms,  amnnmition,  blankets,  strouding,  traps,  whiskey,  and  all  objects  of 
necessity  and  desire.  To  these  lonely  and  sequestersed  regions  repair 
hundreds  of  white  hunters,  who  liunt  for  subsistence,  and  trap  for  gain 
TJiey  make  their  way  in  companies  of  armed  partnerships,  fitted  out,  as 
a  kind  of  guerillas.  Sometimes  a  pair  of  sworn  friends  hunt  together. 
There  arc  not  a  few,  who  repair  alone  to  these  solitary  streams  and 
mountains.  Outlawry,  avarice,  necessity,  and  n])|)etitc  for  lawless  and 
unrestrained  and  unwitnessed  roving,  constant  exi)osurc  and  danger,  the 
absolute  need  of  relying  alone  upon  their  own  personal  strengtii  and 
resources,  create  a  very  singular  compound  of  astonishing  quickness  of 


\MM4I3. 


nr» 


pcrct'itlioii  ami  u  ri*  kit  s.-*  tonrulciMi,'  in  th«'ir  t)wii  prowcHH.     Wo  hav« 
si't'ii  Mion^  than  otn'  Imiitrr  ot'  iIiim  r.iHt  inriiriiltly  attiicli<'(l  (u  a  wotituilu 
of  liilior  iitui  (lander,  ('()iii|>ui'«*(l  willi  wliirli  K(*l)iiiHttii  Oiikoc^h  Hojoiirn  on 
Ins  inlaiKl  was  hut  a  nine  |mslor.il  rxpriii't-ni.     Tliry  iuriiiHli  iin  iliiproM- 
n'lw  proof  tliat   llicn'  in  no  ri(uil(>  of  UW',  iritriiiHir.ally  so  n-pnlHivo  and 
paiiit'iil,  1)1)1  man  may  linuiiK'  kosik  iIimI  to  it  liy  liahit.    A  lotirly  jmnlur, 
cast  upon  (Itr  clcmriils,  witli  iitiiliiii^'  hut  prairies  ami  mountains  in  view, 
u'illionl  l)r(!a<l  or  salt,  nn«l  cvrry  hour  in  jropardy  front  hfiistij  iiml  Hava;^oM, 
iiniidst  HiTiM'ry  and  daiiircrs,  that  would  naturally  lend  to  riiisc  tlio  liuart 
to  (iod,  triistin<r  to  no  divinity,  ))Ut  his  knift;  ami  his  ^un,  building  all 
his  plans  for   the   fiituri!  on   his  traps,  ro^ardin;^  tin;  footstep  of  man 
iinprinte<l  in  lli(>  -tand  an  oh|<<c.t  of  ealr.ulatin;j[  apprehension,  and  alnioHt 
e(pially  dreadinir  the  fac(>  of  the  while  man  and  th<!  savag(!,  in  Hitmitions 
thus  lonely  and  exposed,  hiaves  the  heat  of  HumuM^r  and   tho  iccH  of 
winter,  the  yri/zly   hear,  and  rohlnirs  of  his  own  raet;,  ami  tlu;  savagt'f, 
for  years.  When  he  has  collected  a  HUirn'.ient  nuinher  of  piieks  of  heavor, 
he  falls  a  hollow  tree,  i^lides  it   into  some  full  mountain  Htream,  and 
piiddles  down  the  thousand  lea/^rm'S  of  the  Missouri,  a tid  is  seen  huHtling 
ahont  tlic!  streets  of  St.  JAUiis,  to  makc^  liar^'ains  lor  his  furs.     Tln!r(j  aro 
very  simple  and  ohvioiis  marks,  hy  which  to  class  these  paeks,  neeording 
to  their  <pialily  and  value.     The  more  northern  llu;  ranye  «)f  the;  animal, 
th(!  inor«;  vahialtle  is  the  fur;  and  in  the  same  parallel,  those  that  live;  in 
momitain  streams  are  more  valuahje,  than  those  that    live  on   plains. 
The  habits  of  this  valuable  and  social  animal  are  well  known,  and  aro 
the  same  in  this  re^don,  as  els(!whcre.      'J'ho  packs  aro  rated  by  tho 
pound,  and  pass  in  many  |)lac.es,  as  a  substitute  for  money.     They  arc, 
in  fact,  the  circulatin;,'   medium  of  (/anadian   and  Missouri   hunters, 
cnvrem'K  du  hou,  und  many  tribes  of  savages.     St.  Louis  is  the  centre 
of  the  fur  trade  in  this  valh^. 

Gray,  ^'riz/ly,  or  white  bear,  urfius  art'ticiiff.  Mis  ranyc  is  on  the  upper 
courses  of  the  Missouri,  and  its  tributaries,  and  ah)n^  tho  bases  of  tho 
Rocky  mountains.  'I'Iks  brown  bisar,  (!xc«;|)t  under  jiartioular  circum- 
stances, does  not  face  man.  But  this  terrible  animal,  so  far  from  fearing 
or  flying,  pursues  him,  having  less  fear  of  him,  than  any  other  beast  of 
prey.  Indian  warriors,  in  their  vaunting  war  songs,  when  they  perform 
what  is  called  'striking  the  post,'  or  rating  the  bravery  of  their  exploits, 
recount  having  slain  one  of  these  animids,  as  no  moan  exploit,  and,  in 
fact,  as  not  inferior  to  having  slain  a  human  enemy.  It  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  strongest  animals  of  prey,  being  out  of  comparison  larger, 
than  the  brown  bear.  Lewis  and  Clark  give  the  dimensions  of  one, 
slain  by  their  party  towards  the  sources  of  the  Missouri.  It  meriurf  d 
round  the  head  three  feet  five  inches;  round  the  neck  three  fee'  sle.eri 


■•^ 


66 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


I  ,' 


inches;  length  eight  feet  seven  inches  and  a  lialf;  round  the  fore  leg  one 
foot  eleven  inches;  lengtli  of  talojis  four  inclics  and  a  half!  T]ic 
weight  is  sometimes  nearly  thirteen  hundred  pounds.  Like  the  lion  and 
the  tiger  on  the  African  deserts,  he  reigns,  the  ferocious  tyrant  of  tliese 
solitudes.  The  Crow  Indians  and  the  Gros  ventres,  who  live  in  the 
range  of  this  animal,  have  lost  many  of  their  bravest  warriors  by  him. 
The  white  hunters  are  shy  of  attacking  him,  except  in  companies;  and 
many  have  been  destroyed  in  the  attempt.  The  skin  of  those  in  the 
more  northern  regions  is  very  valuable.  It  is  rated  in  value  from  thirty 
to  fifty  dollars.  Fortunately  he  is  not  very  swift ;  and  as  he  usually 
ranges  in  the  timbered  regions,  and,  unlike  the  brown  bear,  does  not 
climb,  hunters  fly  him  by  mounting  a  tree. 

Panther,  by  the  French  called  tigre,  is  a  ferocious  animal  of  tJie  cat 
family.     They  range  the  forests,  over  all  this  valley.    They  are  of  the 
size  of  the  largest  dogs,  of  a  darkish  gray  color,  marked  with  black  spots. 
They  are  in  shape  much  like  the  domestic  cat,  with  short  legs,  large 
paws,  and  long  talons.     Their  head,  too,  resembles  that  of  a  cat,  with 
whiskers  not  quite  so  long  in  proportion.     They  purr  in  the  same  way 
when  they  are  in  good  humor,  and  seem  to  have  all  the  habits  of  the  cat. 
We  have  often  heard  their  wild,  nocturnal  cry  at  the  commencement  of 
twilight  in  the  forests.     They  are  dangerous  when  wounded,  and  under 
particular  circumstances  have  been  known  to  attack  a  man.  They  conceal 
themselves  among  the  branches  of  trees,  and  thence  dart  upon  tiieir  prey. 
They  seldom  fail  to  attack  a  child,  should  they  meet  him  alone.    In  tlie 
country  west  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  there  is  sometimes  seen  an  animal 
of  this  kind,  but  much  larger,  than  the  panther.     We  saw  a  skin  of  this 
animal,  killed,  we  believe,  not  far  from  Natchez,  and  it  was  the  size  of 
a  leopard's  skin,  and  of  a  color,  intermediate  between  the  spots  of  the 
leopard  and  the  stripes  of  the  African  tiger. — There  has,  probably, 
been  exaggeration,  as  to  the  size  and  numbers  of  these  animals,  in  the 
accounts,  that  have  been  published  of  them.     But  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
that  an  animal  of  the  panther  species,  of  great  size  and  fierceness,  ranges 
these  forests,  probably,  an  occasional  visitor  from  the  Mexican  regions. 

Wolf.  There  are  two  species  that  are  common — the  gray,  large, 
forest  wolf,  and  the  prairie  wolf.  We  should  judge  the  former  to  be 
larger  than  the  Atlantic  wolf.  We  encountered  an  uncommonly  large 
one,  in  the  forests  between  Natchitoches  and  the  Sabine.  A  very  large 
dog  could  not  be  brought  to  advance  towards  him,  and  he  sat  and  eyed 
us,  at  a  few  rods  distance. 

The  prairie  wolf  is  of  a  lighter  gray,  and  not  more  than  half  the  size 
of  the  former.  They  have  shari)cr  noses,  and  a  form  more  resembling 
that  of  a  fox.    They  arc  bold,  fierce,  cunning  and  mischievous  animals. 


Aif^iiill' 


ANIMALS. 


67 


nnd,  in  tlieir  bark  and  howl,  not  easily  distinguished  from  the  domestic 
dog.  They  sometimes  travel  in  packs  on  the  prairies.  We  have  often 
heard  tlieir  slirill  and  sharp  bark  by  night,  from  a  cabin  on  the  prairies. 
It  was  evidently  a  note  of  defiance  to  the  dogs  of  the  house.  The  latter 
retreat  towards  the  cabin,  evidencing  fear,  and  diminishing  their  bark  to 
a  whine,  and  finally  pawing  at  the  door  for  admission  within.  They  are 
a  most  annoying  scourge  to  the  farmer,  and,  in  fact,  the  greatest  impedi- 
ment to  the  raising  of  sheep  on  the  prairies. 

All  the  American  varieties  of  foxes,  porcupines  and  rabbits  are 
common  j  the  latter  so  much  so,  as  to  be  exceedingly  annoying  to  gardens 
and  young  nurseries.  They  breed  in  vast  numbers  in  the  patches  of 
hazles  and  vines,  and  skirt  the  prairies  and  barrens. 

Raccoons  are  very  troublesome  to  corn  fields,  and  it  is  a  sport,  prepa- 
ratory to  more  serious  hunting,  for  boys  to  sally  out,  and  take  them 
by  night.  ^  ♦ 

Woodchucks  and  opjwssums  abound,  and  are  generally  so  fat,  as  not 
to  be  able  to  reach  their  burrows,  if  overtaken  at  a  little  distance  from 
tJiem.  These  animals  are  called  by  the  French,  ^cochons  du  bois? 
They  scald  off  the  hair,  and  dress  them,  as  roasting  pigs,  and  consider 
tlicm  a  great  delicacy.  The  singular  formation  of  the  oppossum  is  too 
well  known,  to  need  description;  but  they  have  one  habit,  that  we  have 
not  seen  described.  They  seem  to  be  lazy,  reckless  and  stupid  animals; 
and  prove,  that  the  profoundest  dissimmulation  may  consist  with  the 
greatest  apparent  stupidity.  It  is  familiar  to  every  one,  who  has  often 
seen  this  animal,  that  when  you  come  upon  it,  at  any  distance  from  its 
shelter,  which  is  a  hollow  tree  or  log,  instead  of  retreating  for  that  shelter, 
it  turns  on  its  side,  tlirows  out  its  legs  and  settles  its  body,  its  eyes,  and 
its  features  into  tiie  supineness  of  death.  Observers  have  remarked, 
that  tiie  imitation  is  perfect  in  every  part  of  the  body,  but  the  tail,  and 
that  this  retains  a  Jiving  and  clastic  coil,  that  only  appertains  to  life. 
Even  the  instinctive  shrewdness  of  the  dog  is  at  fault;  for  he  applies  his 
nose  to  the  animal,  and  turns  it  over,  and  passes  it  by  as  dead.  This 
astonishing  trait  of  the  instinct,  or  reasoning  of  this  sluggish  animal,  is 
transferred  by  a  figure  to  men.  In  the  common  parlance  of  the  country, 
any  one,  who  counterfeits  sickness,  or  dissembles  strongly  for  a  particu- 
lar purpose,  is  said  to  be  'possuming!' 

Squirrels.  Gray,  black,  chesnut,  and  all  the  smaller  varieties  of  this 
animal  aboimd.  There  is  no  part  of  the  valley,  where  they  do  not  prey 
upon  corn  fields,  adjacent  to  woods,  in  such  a  manner,  as  that  in  autumn, 
farmers  will  not  consider  it  an  object  to  furnish  a  boy  with  gun,  powder 
and  lead,  on  condition,  that  he  will  shoot  only  about  their  corn  fields.  It 
is  a  cheering  spectacle  in  autumn,  to  walk  in  the  beech  and  hickory 


•.n: 


(VS 


MIlsSIS^IFPI    VAIiLrV. 


bottoms,  where  you  niny  often  see,  nt  one  view,  half  a  dozen  of  these 
ftctivo  and  proud  little  animals,  flonrisliini?  fhcir  erect  and  spread  tails, 
harking  defiance  at  you,  or  each  other,  and  .'<kippin<T,  as  if  hy  the  aid  of 
wings,  from  branch  to  brancli.  It  is  a  fact,  to  which  we  can  bear  occular  testi- 
mony, that  tliey  cross  rivers  ;  at  some  times  swimming  ;  at  otlier  times 
on  a  chip,  or  piece  of  bark,  raising  and  spreading  their  tails,  by  way  of 
sail.  It  often  happens  to  these,  tis  to  other  inexperienced  navigators, 
that  they  spread  too  much  canvass,  and  are  overset,  and  drowned.  It  is 
related,  as  having  happened  in  the  year  1811,  that  they  emigrated  from 
the  north  towards  the  south  by  thousands,  nnd  with  a  front  of  some  regu- 
larity, along  the  lower  part  of  tlio  state  of  Ohio,  and  the  whole  front  of 
Indiana.     Thousands  were  drowned,  in  attempting  to  cross  the  Ohio. 

The  skunk  is  common,  and  is  aftcner  met,  than  east  of  the  mountains  ; 
"but  in  other  respects  is  the  same  liold  animal,  and  possessing  the  same 
reliance  upon  his  peculiar  kind  of  defence. 

Goplier,  a  species  of  mole,  more  than  twice  the  size  of  the  common 
field  mole.  It  burrows  in  the  prairies;  and  there  arc  immense  tracts 
covered  with  the  little  hillocks,  made  l)y  the  earth  which  they  have  dug 
from  their  burrows.  They  have  an  exquisitely  soft,  fine  fur,  of  cerulean 
color;  and  they  have  on  each  side  of  their  jaws  a  pouch,  or  skinny  bag, 
of  considerable  size,  which  is  usually  seen  distended  with  the  dirt, 
which  they  are  transporting  from  their  holes.  They  prey  on  the  bulbous 
roots  of  flowers,  on  potatoes,  and  other  vegetables,  and  are  particularly 
destructive  to  young  orchards,  killing  the  trees  by  gnawing  off  a  com- 
plete circle  of  bark  round  the  body,  near  the  roots.  The  mounds  which 
they  raise,  are  serious  impediments  in  the  way  of  driving  carts  and 
carriages  over  the  theatre  of  their  operations. 

An  animal  confounded  with  this,  but  not  the  same,  inhabits  the  shores 
along  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  is  called  the  Salamander.  It  is  of  the  size, 
and  in  some  respects,  the  appearance  of  a  common  rat.  It  is  never  seen 
abroad  by  day.  It  is  a  fierce  and  ligliting  little  animal,  when  overtaken 
in  its  burrows,  and  the  wounds  inflicted  with  its  teeth  severe. 

Elk.  Large  flocks  of  these  animals  are  found  in  the  northern  limits  of 
the  range  of  the  buffalo.  'J'o  our  view,  an  elk  is  no  more,  than  a  very 
large  deer,  something  exceeding  the  height  of  a  common  horse.  Their 
flesh  has  the  same  flavor,  as  common  venison.  Their  habits  are  similar 
to  those  of  the  deer.  In  the  country  where  they  range,  hunting  them  is 
an  object  with  the  Indians,  only  secondary  to  that  of  hunting  the  buffalo. 
We  have  never  seen  the  moose  in  this  country  ;  but  it  is  found  in  the 
northern  and  northwestern  regions. 

Antelope,  a  kind  of  moinitairi  deer,  seen  bounding  on  the  summits  of 
the   highest  nnd  most  prrripitons    bills  at  tlie  sources  of  the  Missouri. 


..* 


I.,-    ' 


^.- 


niRDS. 


00 


Tliey  ar(Mlescril)Ccl,  as  bein,^^  vory  flnot  and  hoaiirifiil  animals,  and  (heir 
flosli  is  preferred  to  lliat  oftlio  common  doer.  I'imid  as  llicy  arc,  ihcir 
excessive  curiosity  lures  tliem  lo  ilieir  deslniction. — They  fra/c  upon 
man,  until,  as  if  charmed,  tliey  seen»  arrested  to  the  spot,  and  in  this  way 
are  sometimes  kiliec'. 

Mountain  sheep,  nn  .inimal,  that,  like  tiie  former,  inhabits  mountains, 
choosing  for  its  ranf.'o  the  most  remote  and  inaccessihle  at  the  sources 
of  the  Missouri.  They  have  horns  of  prodigious  si/.o  ;  and  arc  rather 
larger,  than  the  deer.  They  arc  covered  with  a  wool,  like  fur,  in  some  parts 
whit(!,  and  in  others  brownish.  Their  range  is  so  solitary,  and  diflicult  of 
access,  that  they  arc  not  often  killed. 

Prairie  dog,  ardomyn  Ludomriann.  Tiiis  animal  has  received  its  ab- 
surd name  from  the  siipposed  similarity  of  its  ])eculiar  cry,  or  note,  to 
the  barking  of  a  dog.  In  other  respects  therr;  is  little  resemblance  to 
that  animal.  It  is  of  reddish  brown  color,  interspersed  with  some  gray 
and  black.  The  color  of  the  underside  of  the  body  is  not  unlike  that  of 
the  skunk.  It  h;is  rather  a  wide  and  large  head,  short  ears,  black  whis- 
kers, and  a  sharp  and  compressed  nose.  It  something  exceeds  twice  the 
size  of  a  common  gray  squirrel.  One  of  them  measured  from  the  tip  of 
the  nose  to  the  extremity  of  the  tail  nineteen  inches.  Like  the  beaver,  they 
arc  social  and  gregarious,  living  on  the  dry  prairies  in  large  communities, 
some  of  which  occupy  a  circuit  of  miles.  They  live  in  burrows  ;  and  at 
the  entrance,  there  is  a  mound,  formed  by  the  earth,  which  they  bring  up 
in  the  excavation.  In  whatever  direction  they  move,  they  have  well  beaten 
highways,  from  which  every  impediment  is  carefully  removed.  There 
are  several  occupants,  probably  all  of  the  same  family,  of  one  burrow.  In 
mild  weather  they  are  seen  sporting  about  the  mouths  of  their  habitations, 
and  seem  to  have  much  of  the  sprightlincss,  activity,  and  spirit  of  defi- 
ance, of  the  squirrel.  At  the  apprehended  approach  of  danger,  they  raise 
that  peculiar  bark,  from  which  they  have  derived  their  name.  On  the 
nearer  approach  of  danger,  they  relincpiish  their  vaporing,  and  retreat  to 
their  dens.  They  are  said  seldom  to  re(]uire  drink,  and  to  remain  torpid 
in  their  burrows  through  the  winter.  When  overtaken,  away  from  its 
homo,  this  little  animal  sliows  all  the  impotent  fierceness  of  a  small  cur. 
But  Avhen  taken,  it  easily  domesticates,  and  becomes  gentle  and  aflfec- 
tionate.* 

BiKDS.  This  valley,  embracing  all  the  varieties  of  the  climate  of  the 
country  east  of  the  mountains,  might  be  supposed  lo  have  the  same  birds, 
and  those  birds  the  same  habits.  The  former  is  true,  and  the  latter  is  not. 
Wc  have  noted  no  birds  in  the  Atlantic  country,  that  we  have  not  seen 


*For  catalogue  of  beasts,  see  Appendix,  table  No.  IV, 


70 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


Jicro.  We  have  many,  that  arc  not  seen  there  ;  and  those,  tliat  are  com- 
mon to  both  regions,  liavc  not  the  same  liabits  here,  as  there.  We  have 
no  doubt,  that  cultivation  and  the  iiabitancy  of  civilized  men  affect  the 
liabils,  and  even  tlie  residence  of  birds.  There  are  many  in  the  more 
populous  and  cultivated  regions  beyond  the  mountains,  that  seem  to  be- 
long to  orchards  and  gardens,  and  that  appear  to  exult  and  be  at  home 
only  in  the  midst  of  fruit  arbors,  and  groves  reared  by  art  and  luxury.  It 
is  remarked  in  the  more  populous  and  cultivated  districts  of  the  West,  that 
in  proportion,  as  the  wilderness  disappears,  and  is  replaced  by  apple,  pear 
peach  and  plumb  trees,  and  fruit  gardens,  the  birds,  which  cheered  tho 
inftmcyoftlie  immigrants,  and  whose  notes  are  associated  in  recollectioi^ 
\.'it]ithc  ciiarms  of  youthful  existence,  and  the  tender  remembrances  of 
the  natal  spot,  and  a  distant  and  forsaken  country,  are  found  among  tho 
recent  orchards.  Every  immigrant,  especially,  who  was  reared  in  New 
England,  remembers  the  magpie  or  boblink,  the  bird  of  half  formed  leaves, 
of  planting,  and  the  freslmess  of  spring. — He  remembers  to  have  heard 
them  chattering  in  the  woods,  almost  lo  tiresomeness.  They  are  occa-^ 
sionally  seen  in  the  middle  and  northern  regions  of  tliis  valley.  They 
are  seldom  heard  to  sing,  and  arc  only  known  by  the  lover  of  nature,  who 
hears  in  the  air,  as  they  pass  over  his  head,  the  single  note,  which  they 
utter  at  tlie  East,  when  they  are  leaving  that  country.  Some  years  since,  in 
Missouri,  we  saw  a  number  of  the  males  gathered  on  a  spray,  in  the  midst 
of  a  low  prairie,  of  a  sunny  morning,  after  a  white  frost.  They  were  chat- 
tering away  in  their  accustomed  style.  But  they  did  but  half  carry 
out  the  song,  that  we  used  to  hear  in  the  meadows  of  New  England, 
leaving  a  painful  break  in  the  middle,  and  reminding  us  of  the  beauti- 
ful passage  in  the  psalms,  touching  the  exiles  on  the  streams  of  Babylon. 

Robin,  tvrdus  migratorius.  The  robin-redbreast  in  the  northern 
Atlantic  country  is,  more  than  any  other,  the  bird  of  orchards  and  gardens, 
and  is  there  almost  identified  with  the  domestic  affections  of  man. 
This  delightful  bird,  -in  many  places  protected  from  the  gun  by  public 
feeling,  sings  there  such  an  unpretending,  and  yet  sweet  bong,  that  the 
inhabitants  need  not  regret  wanting  the  nightingale.  In  the  West,  this 
bird  makes  annual  visits;  and  is  seen  in  the  autumn,  the  winter  and 
spring,  but  never,  at  least  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  valley,  in  the 
summer.  Thousands  winter  in  Louisiana,  and  perch  by  night  in  the 
thick  cane  brakes,  and  are  killed  with  a  stick.  In  the  middle  regions, 
they  visit  the  country  in  the  autumn,  to  feed  on  the  berries  of  the  spice 
wood,  laurm  bcngoin.  Tiicy  are  recently  heard  beginning  to  sing  in 
the  orchards.  '  ^j  ,      . 

The  thrasher,  tardus  rtifus,  the  perwink,  turdus  fuscus,  and  the  blue- 
bird, are  in  numbers,  habits  and  song,  as  at  the  north,  except  that  the  blue- 
bird is  heard  every  pleasant  day  tlirough  the  winter. 


bills,  a ! 


-m 


BIKDS. 


71 


The  splendid  plumage,  the  bold  Juiljits,  and  the  slirill  scream  of  tlio 
J)luejay,  are  alike  familiar  to  the  woods  of  Canada  and  the  Sabine. 

Mocking-bird,  turdvs  Orpheus,  vcl  jfolyglottus,  is  seen  in  the  middle 
and  southern  Atlantic  states;  but  is  far  more  frequent  in  this  valley.  Its 
gay,  voluble  and  jerky  note,  imitating  that  of  all  other  birds,  and  heard  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year,  renders  it  a  delightful  tenant  of  the  southern 
woods.  It  breeds  in  thorn  bushes,  and  among  the  arbors  of  the  briar 
vines;  and  delights  to  sit  on  the  tops  of  chimneys,  darting  pcrix^ndicu- 
larly,  as  if  in  a  frolic,  high  into  the  air  above,  and  descending  by  the 
same  movement,  singing  its  gayest  strain,  all  the  while.  It  is  a  bird  of 
sober  plumage,  and  from  its  delicate  structure,  rather  difficult  to  rear 


m  a  cage. 


Redbird,  cardinalis  Virginiana.  The  range,  frequency  and  hab'^.s  of 
this  most  beautiful  bird  are  the  same  with  the  former.  Its  not*"  nas  but 
little  range.  We  have  not  heard  it  sing  more  than  five  not' s;  but  its 
whistle  is  clear,  mellow  and  delightful.  It  appears  not  to  regard  •jiv.hirdi,, 
or  human  habitancy,  but  pours  its  song  in  the  deep  forests.  TJie  i-avpilor 
is  cheered,  as  he  rides  along  the  bottoms,  especially  in  sunny  mornings, 
after  frosts  in  the  winter,  by  hearing  this  song  softening  tlic  harsh 
screaming  of  the  jay.  The  male,  after  moulting,  is  of  a  most  brilliant 
scarlet,  with  a  fine  crest,  and  a  bill  of  the  appearance  of  ivory. 

Nightingale  spnrxow,  fringilla  mclodia,  a  very  diminutive  sparrow  with 
plain  plumage,  but  pours  from  its  little  throat  a  powerful  song,  like  that 
of  the  nightingale.  In  the  southern  regions  of  the  valley,  like  the  mock- 
ing-bird, this  bird  sings  through  the  warm  nights  of  summer,  except  during 
the  darkness  and  the  dawn  of  morning. 

Goldfinch,  turdus  aurocapillus.  We  have  doubted,  if  this  were  the 
same  bird  witli  that,  so  called,  in  the  Atlantic  country.  It  is  not  so 
briUiant  in  plumage,  and  has  not  exactly  the  same  whistle;  but  is  here  a 
gay  and  cheering  bird  in  appearance  and  note.  It  builds  the  same  hang- 
ing nest,  with  the  bird,  so  called,  at  the  north. 

Parroquet,  psiUacus  Carolinicnsis.  These  arc  birds  of  the  parrot 
class,  seen  from  latitude  40°  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  Their  food  is  the 
fruit  of  the  sycamore,  and  their  retreat  in  the  hollow  of  that  tree.  They 
are  a  very  voracious  bird,  preying  on  apples,  grapes,  and  figs,  and  all 
kinds  of  fruit.  They  fly  in  large  flocks,  and  are  seen  in  greatest  numbers 
before  a  storm,  or  a  great  change  in  the  weather.  They  have  hooked,  ivory 
bills,  a  splendid  mixture  of  burnished  '--ilding  and  green  on  the  heads  and 
their  bodies  are  a  soft,  and  yet  brilliant  green.  Their  cry,  as  they  are  flying, 
is  shrill  and  discordant.  They  are  said  to  perch,  by  hanging  by  their 
bill  to  a  branch.  When  they  are  taken,  they  make  battle,  and  their 
hooked  bill  pounces  into  the  flesh  of  their  enemy.    They  are  very  annoy- 


t' 


f 


I 


i  I 


I 


i 


n 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLKY. 


ing  to  fruit  orchards,  and  in  this  respect  a  great  scourge  to  the  farmer. 
We  liavc  seen  no  bird  of  the  size,  with  plumage  so  brilhant.  They 
impart  a  singular  maguiticence  to  the  forest  prospect,  as  they  are  seen 
darting  through  the  folitigo,  and  among  the  white  branches  of  the 
sycamore. 

Owls.  A  great  many  varieties  of  this  bird  are  found  Ijere.  Their 
hooting  and  screaming,  in  every  variety  of  tone  and  sound,  often  imita- 
ting the  cry  of  human  distress  and  laughter,  and  sometimes  the  shrieks 
of  a  babe,  are  heard  over  all  this  valley  in  the  deep  forests  and  bottoms. 
We  have  heard  forty  at  a  time  on  the  lower  courses  of  the  Mississippi. 

Among  the  varieties  of  the  hawk  and  eagle  class,  the  bald  eagle  is 
often  seen  soaring  above  the  cliffs,  or  the  deep  forests. 

Swans,  geese,  ducks  of  a  great  many  kinds,  herons,  cormorants, 
pelicans  and  sand-hill  cranes,  arc  the  common  and  well  known  migra- 
ting water  fowls  of  this  country. — The  noise  of  their  countless  flocks, 
as  they  journey  through  the  air  in  the  spring,  to  the  sources  of  the  great 
rivers  and  lakes,  and  in  autumn,  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  is  one  of  the 
most  familiar  sounds  to  the  ear  of  an  inhabitant  of  the  West,  and  is  one 
of  his  strongest  and  pleasantest  associations  with  spring  and  autumn. 
The  noise  of  migrating  geese  and  ducks,  at  those  periods,  is  also  familiar 
to  the  ear  of  an  Atlantic  inhabitant.  That  of  the  swans,  pelicans  and 
cranes  is  peculiar  to  this  valley.  The  swan  is  well  known  for  its  stateli- 
ness  and  brilliant  white.  Its  migrating  phalanxes  are  in  perfectly  regular 
forms,  as  are  those  of  the  geese.  They  sometimes  join  forces,  and  fly 
intermixed  with  each  other.  Their  noise,  on  the  wing,  is  like  the  distant 
sound  of  a  trumpet.  They  are  killed  on  the  rice  lakes  at  the  north,  in  the 
summer,  and  in  Ihe  gulf  and  its  neighboring  waters  in  the  winter.  The 
younger  ones  are  as  fine  for  the  table,  as  geese.  The  older  ones  are 
coarse  and  tough.   They  are  of  use  for  their  fine  quills,  feathers  and  down. 

Sand-hill  crane,  grus  Canadensis,  is  a  fine,  stately  bird,  as  majestic 
in  the  water,  as  a  swan,  and  considerably  taller;  of  a  perfectly  sleek, 
compact  and  oily  plumage,  of  a  fine  grayisli  white  color.  They  are  seen 
in  countless  numbers,  and  not  being  of  sufficient  use  to  be  the  pursuit 
of  the  gunner,  they,  probably,  increase.  We  have  seen  in  tlie  prairio 
between  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi,  at  the  point  of  junction,  acres 
covered  with  them,  in  the  spring  and  autumn.  They  seem,  at  a  distance 
like  immense  droves  of  sheep.  They  migrate  in  company  with  the 
pelicans;  and  it  is  an  interesting  spectacle,  that  during  their  migrations^ 
they  are  seen  for  days  together,  sailing  back  and  forward  in  the  upper 
regions  of  the  air,  apparently  taking  the  amusement  of  flying  evolutions, 
and  uttering  at  the  same  time  a  deep  cry,  which  is  heard  distinctly, 
when  ihe  flocks  are  so  high  in  the  air,  as  not  to  be  seen,  or  only  seen 


.9-' 


11 1  It  us. 


IS 


vvlicii  llitir  wliiUt  \viii;.:s  ;iie  tliscciued,  as  specks  of  sinow,  from  their 
iK'iriir  ill  ii  particuUir  position  lo  the  rays  of  tlic  sun. 

Tl<c  pt'Hcan  is  a  siii<iuhir  water  fowl,  with  an  ivory  bill, extremely  white 
|)liiiiiag'c,  lirger  in  ;ipi)oa ranee,  but  not  so  heavy,  as  a  full  grown  Canadian 
"ouse.  They  frcipient  the  lakes  and  the  sand  bars  of  the  rivers,  during 
tlieir  ini^'rations,  in  inconceivable  numbers.  Flocks  of  them,  reaching 
a  mile  in  length,  i)assing  over  the  villages,  arc  no  unusual  spectacle. 
Below  llieir  Leak,  or  bill,  they  have  a  pouch,  or  bag,  which  will  contain, 
it  is  paid,  two  (juarts.  In  the  autumn,  wlien  associated  with  the  swans, 
tfeene,  brants,  ducks,  cranes  and  loons,  on  the  sand  bars  of  the  rivers, 
iVojn  their  incessant  vociferousness,  they  arc  very  annoying  companions 
1u  the  inmates  of  boats,  wlio  lie  to,  and  wish  to  find  sleep. 

This  being  a  country  of  long  rivers,  of  frequent  lakes  and  bayous, 
and  sluggirili  waters,  and  marshy  inlets  of  the  sea,  on  the  gulf  of  Mexico, 
it  would  be  expected,  as  is  the  fact,  that  it  would  be  the  home  of  vast 
numbers  and  varieties  of  water  fowls.  No  waters  on  tlie  globe  show 
•rreater  numbers  and  varieties,  than  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  In  the  wint-er, 
wlicn  these  fowls  take  shelter  in  the  bayous,  swamps  and  prairies  of 
Louisiana,  they  arc  killed  in  great  numbers  by  the  French  and  Indians. 
Water  Ibwls  are  abundunl  and  chaap  in  all  the  markets.  Their  feathers 
and  quills  are  an  o])joct  of  some  importance  in  commerce.  From  the 
double  (uniual  migrations  of  the  water  fowls,  the  inhabitants  of  the 
middle  regions  of  tlic  valley  have  biennial  harvests  of  them.     '■'-"<-■ 

Pigeons  sometunes  are  seen  in  great  flocks.     Their  social  and  grega 
rious  habits  incline  tlienj  to  roost  together,  and  their  places  of  resort  are 
called  'pigeon  roosts.'     In  those  [ilaces  they  settle  on  all  the  trees  for  a 
considerable  distance  round,  in  such  numbers,  as  to  break  off  the  branches. 
Turkey,  milcagns  g<iU!paro.     The  wild  turkey  is  a  fine,  large  bird, 
of  brilliant,  blackish  plumage.     It  breeds  with  the  domestic  one;  and 
when  tlic  latter  is  reared  near  tlu;  range  of  tlie  former,  it  is  sure  to  be 
I  iiticed  into  the  woods  by  it.     In  some  places  they  are  so  numerous,  as 
to  be  easily  killed,  beyond  the  wants  of  the  people.     We  have  seen  more 
than  an  hundred  driven  from  one  corn  field.     The  Indians,  and  the 
western  sportsmen,  learn  a  way  lo  hunt  them,  by  imitating  the  cry  of 
tiieir  young. 

Partridge,  tctrao  pcrd'hw,  the  same  bird,  wliich  is  called  quail  in  New 
England.  They  breed  in  great  numbers  in  the  settled  regions,  and, 
much  as  they  are  liunted,  increase  with  the  population.  They  are  brought 
in  great  numbers  to  the  markets;  and  are  not  unlVequenliy  taken,  as  they 
are  crossing  the  rivers,  on  the  steam  boats.  One  of  the  standing  amuse- 
ments of  the  country  is  to  take  them,  by  driving  tiiem  into  a  net, 

10 


74 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


: 


•■■  1 


i  '  f 


; 


(  S 


i 


I 


i 


Pheasant  is  the  same  bird,  which  is  called  i)artridoro  in  Now  l-'n^land. 
It  is  not  so  common  in  this  country,  as  in  lliat.  it  in  sonirtliiiifr  nmrc 
brilliant  in  its  plumage. — Tlinufrh  not  often  seen,  it  is  frequently  Ik.-uk] 
drumming  on  the  logs  in  the  deep  forests. 

Prairie  hen,  tetrao  pratetms,  is  seen  in  great  tlocks  in  the  priiirics  of 
Missouri  and  Illinois,  in  the  autumn.  It  is  rntlirr  hirger,  than  the  doinrs 
tic  hen.  In  flight,  it  appears  like  ti)e  pheasant  and  jmitridLi-e,  and  is  a 
beautiful  bird.  It  lights  on  hams,  and  hovers  about  corn  ticlds.  Win  n 
the  corn  is  not  gathered,  until  in  tiic  winter,  as  often  lia])prns  in  the  West. 
flocks  of  these  birds  are  apt  to  prey  upon  it.  It  is  easily  tamed  and 
domesticated.     The  flesh  has  the  flavor  and  color  of  the  wild  pigeon. 

Hunters  assert,  that  there  is  another  bird  of  the  pheasant  class,  at  the    | 
sources  of  the  Missouri,  of  the  size  of  a  turkey. 

Humming-bird,  trochilus.    They  are  of  two  colors — olive  and  grccii. 

Reptiles.  Animals  of  the  serpent,  turtle  and  frog  class  do  not 
materially  differ  from  those,  of  the  same  parallels  in  the  Atlantic  country. 

All  the  varieties  of  the  rattle  snake,  crotahts  horrUJtis,  are  seen,  in 
some  places  in  pernicious  abundance.  The  yellow  rattle  snake  is  the 
largest  of  the  species.  It  is  sometimes  seen,  as  large  as  a  man's  lof;, 
and  from  six  to  nine  feet  in  length.  A  species  of  small  rattle  snake  is 
sometimes  seen  in  great  numbers  on  the  prairies.  It  is  said,  in  the 
regions  far  to  tlie  west,  to  consort  with  prairie  dogs,  and  to  inhabit  the 
same  burrows.  There  is  a  very  troublesome  species,  called  snappers,  or 
ground  rattle  snakes.  I'hey  travel  in  the  night,  and  frequent  roads 
and  house  paths. 

The  copper  head  is  a  terrible  serpent,  deemed  to  inflict  a  more  danger- 
ous bite,  than  tlie  rattle  snake ;  It  inhabits  the  same  region,  but  is  not  so 
common  as  the  former.  It  has  a  dirty  brown  color;  and  when  it  has 
recently  shed  its  skin,  some  parts  of  its  body  resemble  burnished  copper. 
whence  it  derives  its  name.     It  is  of  a  smaller  size  than  the  rattle  snake. 

Moccasin  snake.  There  are  three  or  four  varieties  of  this  serj)oiit, 
inhabiting  the  southern  country.  The  upland  moccasin  lias  many  aspect? 
in  common  with  the  rattle  snake,  but  is  a  serpent  still  more  repulsive 
in  appearance.  They  are  sometimes  of  great  size;  and  their  fang  tcetli 
are  the  largest  and  longest,  that  we  have  seen.  They  are  most  often  seen 
basking  among  the  bastard  cane.  The  water  moccasins,  as  their  name 
imports,  are  water  snakes.  The  largest  variety  resembles  the  water 
snake  of  tlie  Atlantic  country.  It  has  a  very  large,  flat  head,  and  is 
thence  called  by  the  French, '  tete  platP  It  opens  its  upper  jaw  at  right 
angles  to  the  under  one.     It  has  a  ground  colored,  scaly  back ;  and  in 


RGPTILGS. 


76 


point  of  vononi,  it  is  classed  with  the  rattlo  snake.  There  if  another 
<i|)C(i<s  of  the  moccMsiii,  nirt'Iy  seen  out  of  the  water,  of  a  brilliant 
conpfr  color,  wilh  annular,  gray  stripes,  marking  oil'  compartr^cuts  at 
f(|u;il  (listancos. 

JJrown  vi|M'r,  or  liij^siiiL'  sn;ike.  It  is  of  a  dirty  brown  cjlor,  from  six 
to  c'ijiht  in(li(!R  loiiL'';  with  a  body  large  in  proportion,  ar.d  terminating 
al)ruplly  in  a  sharp  tail.  When  angry,  their  backs  change  color,  and 
tlicir  h»-;i(ls  llatlen,  and  dilate  to  twice  tiie  common  extent,  and  their  hiss 
is  like  that  of  a  goose.  They  are  extremely  ugly  animals;  and,  though 
very  diminutive,  are  supposed  to  be  of  tiie  most  venomous  class.  We 
confined  one  by  a  stick  across  its  back,  and  it  instantly  bit  itself  in  two 
or  three  |)laces.  Wo  gave  it  liberty,  and  observed  its  movements.  It 
soon  became  very  much  swollen,  and  died. 

Horn  snake.  Judge  Cullit,  of  Arkansas,  informed  us,  that  he  killed 
one  of  these  serpents  in  his  smoke  house.  lie  described  the  serpent,  as 
of  a  moderate  size,  blackish  color,  and  with  a  thorn  in  the  tail,  resembling 
tiiat  of  a  diMiglull  cock.  From  its  movements,  he  judged  it  to  be  its 
weapon  of  defence.  We  have  heard  others,  who  have  killed  or  seen  this 
serpent,  describe  it.  We  have  heard  many  of  the  common  reports  of  its 
deadly  venom,  but  never  have  known  a  single  attested  proof;  and  we 
consider  llicni  all  entirely  fabulous. 

We  have  neither  the  information,  nor  space,  to  enable  us  to  be  minute 
in  our  catalogue  and  description  of  these  loathsome  and  dreaded  reptiles. 
We  have  seen  six  or  eight  species,  that  we  never  saw  in  the  Atlantic 
country;  and  we  consider  the  southern  parts  of  this  region  more  infested 
with  serpents,  than  that.  Perhaps  we  might  except  from  this  remark  the 
soutliern  Atlantic  country.  WJierever  the  population  becomes  dense^ 
the  swine  prey  upon  them,  and  they  quickly  disappear.  The  most  per- 
manent and  dangerous  resorts  of  these  reptiles  are  near  the  bases  of 
rocky  and  pcrcipitous  hills,  about  ledges  and  flint  knobs,  and,  in  the 
lower  and  soutliern  country,  along  the  bayous,  and  near  those  vast 
swamps,  tiiat  can  not  be  inhabited  for  ages.  People  are  often  bitten  by 
tlicse  terrible  animals.  The  pain  is  excruciating;  and  the  person,  that 
is  badly  bitten,  swells,  and  soon  becomes  blind.  The  more  venomous  of 
the  serpents  themselves  become  blind,  during  the  latter  part  of  summer. 
They  are  then,  of  course,  less  apt  to  strike  their  aim;  but  their  bite,  at 
this  period,  is  more  dangerous.  The  people  suppose  this  blindness 
occasioned  by  the  absorption  of  their  own  poison  into  their  system. 

Whether  it  be,  that  the  numerous  remedies,  that  are  prescribed  here, 
are  really  efficacious,  or  whether,  as  to  us  appears  more  probable,  the 
bite  of  these  venomous  reptiles  is  not  fatal,  unless  the  poison  is  conveyed 
into  some  leading  vein,  from  whatever  cause  it  be,  it  so  happens,  that 


,.^. 


ife. 


9t 


MI^lSIXHll'I'I    VALI.rV. 


few  fatnliticfl  occur  froni  tliis  cau;'C'.  Wo,  linvc  hccii  /,'rnal  nunihcis,  lliur 
liavebeen  bitten  by  rattle  snakes,  or  (()i)|H>r  heads,  or  iiioccnsins;  and  we 
have  never  seen  a  tUt;il  caHO.  We  read,  indeed,  of  a  most  traffirid  occur 
rence,  more  horrible  in  the  relation,  th'in  tb;'  iinrient  tiriion  of  l.aocoon 
An  immigrant  family  inndverteiitly  fixed  tiicir  eiliin  on  the  slielvin^i 
declivity  of  a  lod<,'0,  that  proved  a  den  of  ratllesMid<;('s.  Wann'-d  by  \\») 
first  fire  on  thelicarlh  of  the  cabin,  the  terrible  reptih.s  issued  in  innnbers, 
and  of  course  in  rage,  by  ni;,'ht  into  the  room,  where  the  whole  family 
slept.  As  happens  in  those  cases,  some  slept  on  the  floor,  and  some  in 
beds.  The  reptiles  spread  in  every  part  of  the  room,  and  mounted  on 
every  bed.  Children  were  stun*,'  in  the  arms  of  their  parents,  and  in 
each  other's  arms.  Imaijinalion  dares  not  dwell  on  the  horrors  of  .surli 
a  scene.  Mo.^t  of  tlie  family  were  bitlcn  to  (]e:ith;  and  those,  who 
escaped,  findinf,'  the  whole  cabin  oeciii)i(,'d  by  these  horrid  tennnls, 
hissing,  and  shaking  their  rattles,  tied  from  the  bonne  by  boating  olf  the 
covering  of  the  roof,  and  escaping  in  that  direction. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  all  the  remedies,  that  arc  pro- 
scribed here,  for  the  bite  of  these  reptiles.  Tt  is  a  received  maxim,  that 
the  application  of  volatile  alkali,  internally,  and  to  the  wound,  neutralizes 
the  poison,  and  is  a  certain  cure. 

Of  harmlcGS  serpents,  this  country  has  the  usual  varieties, — as  tht; 
green,  garter,  chicken,  and  coach-whip  snakes. 
.  We  have  often  seen  the  glass  snake,  with  a  body  of  the  most  lustrous 
brilliance.  A  stroke  across  the  back  separates  the  body  into  a  number 
of  pieces.  Each  of  these  pieces  preserves  for  some  time  the  powci 
of  loco-motion,  and  continues  to  move.  The  people  believe,  that  these 
pieces  soon  meet,  and  unite,  and  become  as  before  the  separation. 

Bull,  or  prairie  snake,  is  one  of  great  size,  and  horrid  appearance. 
It  is  common  on  the  prairies,  lives  in  holes  in  the  ground,  and  runs 
at  the  passing  traveller  with  a  loud  hiss;  but  if  he  stands,  it  instantly 
retreats  to  its  hole.  It  is  perfectly  harmless;  though  such  is  its  size. 
boldness  and  formidable  appearance,  that  it  is  long,  before  the  resiueiif 
in  these  regions  gets  over  his  horror  of  it. 

Lizzards,  lacerta.  Ugly  animals  of  this  kind  are  seen,  in  greafci 
or  less  numbers,  in  all  the  climates.  They  arc  found  under  cotton  loi.'.s 
and  are  dug  from  the  rich  and  muddy  alluvions.  These  last  are  l:izv 
and  loathsome  animals,  and  are  called  '  ground  puppies.'  We  nevn 
saw  any  disposition  in  them  to  bite.  Common  small  lizzards  are  frequent 
in  tlie  southern  districts,  running  along  the  logs,  and  making  just  sucli  a 
sound  as  the  rattle  snake,  when  lie  gives  his  warning. 

There  are  varieties  of  small  camelions.  They  are  apparently  harmless 
animals;  though  when  we  have  caught  tlietn,  they  showed  every  dispo,-;! 


I 


¥ 


'W- 


llKPilLLS. 


77 


fiori  to  I'i'*'-  ''''"y  ^^'"  ''I'ioicc  ill  Iiilfiiii  lionr  lo  .ill  iho  nilors  of  iIk; 
niisiii.  (iivni  serins  In  he  llicir  favorilc  cdlur,  mikI  wlicn  (»ii  n  ^LM'f'on  tree, 
(lint  is  tlioir  ^('iicril  line.  AVIiilc  in  tliin  color,  lli(>  under  pr.it  of  lluir 
neck  Itcconios  a  hoaiilifiil  scarlet.  Their  (liroal  swells,  and  they  emit  a 
(jliarpiiote,  like  iliat.  of  one  of  tli(>  lai/rer  kinds  of  ^'rasslioppers,  when 
j^iiiuinj,'.  We  ]i;ivp  placed  llicm  on  a  liandkt'rcliiif, and  lliey  have  j/radii- 
ally  assumed  all  its  colors.  Placed  on  a  hlack  surface,  they  Ijeconu; 
brown;  and  they  evidently  snller  while  under  this  color,  as  is  manifested 
by  uneasy  movements,  and  by  stroii;,'  and  (juick  j)alpitations,  visible  to 
the  eye.  They  are  very  active  and  nimble  animals,  three  or  four  inches 
in  leiifrlh. 

Scori)ions  arc  liz/ards  of  a  larirer  class,  and  flatter  heads.  They  aro 
animals  of  an  n<ily  appearance,  and  are  tleemed  veiy  poisonous.  Wo 
could  not  learn,  however,  that  any  person  had  been  known  to  bo  bitten 
by  them.  When  attacked,  they  show,  indeed,  flic  niio<«r  and  the  habitsgf 
serpents,  vibrating?  a  fiery  and  forked  toiiffue,  and  bitin<,'  witii  great  fury 
at  the  stick,  which  arrests  them. 

What  is  here  called  tarantula,  is  a  huge  kind  of  spider,  estimated  to 
inflict  a  danffcrous  bite. 

Thecop])er  colored  centipede  is  of  a  cylindrical  form,  and  oftentimes 
of  the  size  and  lenj,'tli  of  a  man's  finger.  A  family  is  said  to  have  been 
poisoned,  by  taking  tea,  in  which  one  of  them  had  been  inadvertently 
boiled. 

Alligator  is  the  most  terrible  animal  of  this  cla.ss.  This  larcc  and 
pow(!rful  lizzard  is  first  seen  in  numbers,  in  passing  to  the  south,  on  the 
the  Arkansas, — that  is  to  say,  a  little  north  of  3;j°;  and  this  is  its  general 
northern  limit  across  the  valley.  Vast  numbers  are  seen  in  the  slow 
streams  and  shallow  lakes  of  Florida  and  Alabama;  but  they  abound  most 
on  Red  river,  the  Rlississippi  lakes,  and  the  bayous  west  of  that  river. 
Forty  have  been  seen  at  one  time  on  a  muddy  bar  of  Red  river.  On 
these  sleeping  waters,  the  cry  of  a  sucking  pig  on  the  banks  will  draw 
a  shoal  of  them  from  their  muddy  retreats  at  the  bottom.  The  largest 
measures  something  more  than  sixteen  feet  from  the  snout  to  the  ex- 
t.emity  of  the  tail.  They  have  at  times,  especially  before  stormy 
weather,  a  singular  roar,  or  bellow,  not  exactly,  as  Bartram  has  describ- 
ed it,  like  distant  thunder, — but  more  like  the  half  sui)pressed  roarings  of 
a  bull.  When  moving  about  on  their  customary  vocations  in  tlie 
water,  they  seem  like  old  logs  m  motion.  In  fine  weather  they  doze  m 
listlessness  on  the  sandbars.  Such  is  their  recklessness,  tiiat  they  allow 
the  people  on  the  passing  steam  boats  to  come  within  a  few  paces  of 
them.  The  ascent  of  a  steam  boat  on  an  aligator  stream,  at  tJic  proper 
season,  is  a  continual  discharge  of  rifles  at  thcni.    A  rifle  ball  will  glance 


'M. 


n 


lll««»I'««tin>l    VAI.I.KV. 


IVotn  tlll>irlH)(li^^4,  iiiil<<M:<  tlii'V  :ii'i>  hit  in  :i  pirtinihr  <liic<-tinii  niiil  |)l:u'C> 
W(<  willii'Hsrtl  till'  iliiil-i  of  II  iii.'iii,  will)  kdlrd  tlicill  llilic  liiiirs  ill  trii. 
Tlit'V  lire  iiol.  liKr  tuilni^iis,  .-iinl  iillii  r  :iin|iliiliit<ii  *  iiiiiiii;ih,  Iriinciiius  ol' 
lire,  lull  hired  |ir<iriis*'i\ .  mid  itiiitirditli  ly  cnihh',  wlini  iiiuitidly  woiiiidrd. 
'riit'V  sliikc  with   llii'ir  l:iils,  cnilcd  iiilo  the  sc«'li<»ii  ul'ii  circh';  mid  this 


M 


o\V  Ins  nicil   pnWiT. 


r 


ic  .'iiiiiii:il  sliii-Kcii, 


hv   tl 


w  s.iiiic  Itjnw  pro- 


pclh'd  InwiihN  (l;«'ir  iiiniilh,  to  he  dcvoiiicd.  Tln-ir  Mln'ii>.;th  of  jaws  is 
piddi;.'ioiis,  and  llicy  in<'  lAccrdiii^jly  voracious.  Tlify  havr  lar<,n',  ivory 
trrlli,  whit'h  n)iil;iiii  a  ravily,  siiU'M'ii  iitly  lar<,rc  to  hold  a  iiiiisUrt  cliar^o 
of  powjlir.  lor  \vlii(  li  piirposr  tliry  aro  roiiiinotily  used  hy  sportsiiirii. 
The  animal,  when  .'-lain,  emits  an  iiitoliralile  smell  of  rniisk ;  and  it  is 
nsserled.  thai  its  head  eontains  a  tpiantity  of  that  driii^'.  They  will 
soiiHMimes  chase  ehildien,  ami  would  overtake  them,  were  it  not  lor  their 
iiialiility  to  make  lateral  movements.  Ilavin<r  few  joints  in  their  ho<ly, 
iiiid  ■. ery  sliort  le<js,  tlu'v  I'ui  not  readily  turn  iVom  a  siraiirlit  I'orwartI 
direction.  < 'onsei|neiilly,  they,  wiio  nnderstaml  their  movetiienis,  avoid 
iheni  without  ditrniilly,  l>y  tiunin'r  oil'  at  ri<4;hl  angles,  and  leaving  tho 
animal  to  move  lorward,  under  its  iinpiilsi>  in  that  <lireetioii.  ln(l(>(Ml, 
lliey  ar«'  hy  no  means  so  dan^,f<Mons,  as  they  arc  commonly  reputed  to  he. 
It  is  said,  they  will  attack  a  iii'uro  in  the  water,  in  prel'erence  to  ;i  white. 
But  thev  are  chielly  rormidihle  to  juijs,  calves,  and  domestic  aiiimalsof 
that  si/.e.  Th''.V  :>'<'  rather  ohjects  ol'terror  iVom  tln'ir  ,^i/.e,  stn-iiuth,  and 
ui'lv  iippearance,  and  iVom  their  larire  teeth  and  stroiii!' j'lws,  than  IVom 
the  actual  injuries,  which  they  have  heeii  known  to  inllict.  TIk-  femali! 
d(>posits  a  /jireat  lunnher  ol'eo;os,  like  a  tortoise,  in  a  hole  on  the  sandhars, 
and  leaves  them  to  he  hatched  hy  the  ardors  of  the  sun  upon  the  sand. 
When  they  are  hatched,  the  turkey  hn/./ards  and  the  parents  are  .said 
alik(Ht)pify  upon  them.  Instinct  prom|)ts  tiiein  for  self  |)reservalion 
to  plunm*  iu  the  watiT.  The  skin  of  llie  allii^alor  is  valnahle  fur  tlio 
tanner. 

Tortoises.  Tlier(>  are  the  iisiial  vari(>ties  oi"  (he  Atlantic  coiinfry. 
The  soft  slielled  iiiud-lortoise  of  the  lakes  alioiit  .New  ()rleans,  and  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  is  said  to  he  not  miu  h  inferior  to  the  W'vM.  India  sea 
turtle  for  the  tahle.      Mpicures,  who  are  dainty  in  their  food,  consider  tlio 


flc 


sii  a  yrea 


t  del 


loacv. 


The  lower  j)art  of  this  valley  is  a  land  of  lakes,  marshes  and  swamps; 
and  is  of  <'ourse,  prolilic  in  toads,  frous,  and  animals  of  that  class. 

The  hull  fro^f,  nina  boons  rcl  iiipcns.  The  deep  notes  of  this  annnul 
are  heard  in  j^neat  perfection  in  the  swamps  hack  of  iXew  Orleans. 

ISIurena  siren  is  a  very  sinuular  animal,  as  far  as  wo  know,  nndescrihod 
by  naturalists.  It  somewhat  resemhles  the  lamprey,  and  is  nearly  two 
feet  in  Icniitli.     It  seems  intermediate  between  tiie  tisli  and  the  lizzard 


riMii  H, 


7t) 


rliii^.'^.  It  li<'>^  *^V"  ^l)'*rl  \f'U^,  placDl  iip:ir  (lit*  licml.  ||  in  iiiiipluliiuiis, 
mill  priirtr.iM'H  llu-  iimmI  willi  llir  liicilily  nrniuvlixli. 

Criiwlisli.  'rii'if.'iir  ihI  iiiiiiilins  ofllifsr  Hiiiill,  (VpsIi  wiifiT  lolishTS 
r\('ry  wlirrc  in  tlu'  sliiilln-.v  waliTH  iiiiil  low  ^iomiiiIm  nf  this  coiiiiliy.  Ily 
|M'n<'lr:i(iii;;  IIm'  Icvrr  (i!'lli('  Mi.«,sissi|»|ti,  liny  Irm- niorc  linn  (»iicc  iii!nlr 
lliMSc  lilll<'  iHTlonlMins  tliiit  li.'ivc  iin|i('i-n'|ililily  i>nhri.rr(|  to  rh-viiHsrH,  l>y 
\vliirli  llir  innnilHidii  oriin-  livrrliiis  Im'cm  Id  iiMi|)oii  tlic  ciHiiitry. 

Ill  tlif  piiK' li'ii'K'iis  of  l''loi'i<l;i,  Al.'il)!iiiiii  niid  IMissi.ssi|i|)i,  is  roiinil  an 
iiiiiiiKil,  ii|»|>iiniilly  of  IJH' lorloisc  <l;u'>',  comiiioiily  cillcil  w  cnnj/'n'.  it 
lias  !i  lai'i,'!'  tiiul  lliick  sli<-ll  and  ItiiirowH  to  ii  {.Meat  (l<'|ilii  in  llic  ^rroiind. 
It  is  ^'pi'odi^^ioiis  powi'i' and  siK'iiylli,  Mid  nsciiililcs  in  many  n.-sprcts 
llic  lo;.';^'<'rli<'iid  luitlf. 


Till!  irlilliyoloi.ry  <»('  llic  .'.miH'  of  McNJco  and  its  waters,  of  flir 
Mississippi,  and  llic  walcis  west  of  it,  and  ol"  llic  norllicrn  lakrs  and  llicii 
waters,  lias  lint  liccn  scicnlilically  explored.  W'r.  arc  aide  only  l(»  j/ivo 
lliiif  offlie  Ohio  and  its  waters,  as  explored  and  dcserilx-d  hy  IVlr.  Kalin- 
CHipui.  ^Ve  leiniik,  however,  thai  the  lishcH  of  all  the  western  waters 
;irr  very  similar,  ami  that  llie  idasses  of  this  lalilc  inelndi  iiiosl  of  I'k! 
lishes  llial  are  ioiiiid  in  the  waters  oftlu-  Mississippi  valley. 

TiioHAie  I''isim;s.  Salmon  pereli, /^rnv/  .v</////o«f7/.  A  line,  Hpolteij 
lish,  from  one  lo  Ihrcc  feel  loii^';  llesii  while,  tender  and  well  IJavonid. 
Vnl;,'ar  name,  ( )liio  Salmon. 

(ioldeu  eyed  perch,  j'crca  v/irtfsopfi.  Jlock  liass.  An  excellent  tahio 
lisli  not  oCtcii  taken. 

IJIack  iU)ttv(\  \)riTh,  prrca  Jii^rro  jnnictu/tt.  llhu-k  hass.  Found  on 
tlio  lower  waters  ofllie Ohio. 

Uiihhier  avihltxlon.  IJiiU'alo  jicrcli.  round  in  all  the  walera  ofljio 
Ohio,     lis  iianu!   is  derived   iVom  the  siii^Milar  ;,'riiiiliiij.'  noise,  which   it 


le 


makes,  a  noise,  which  is  familinr  to  everyone,  who  has  hceii  imich  on  ll 
lio.     It  is  a  fmc  (ish  (or  the  lahlc,  wcic-liin/f  from  ten  lo  thirty  pounds. 
Dotted  jiaintcd  tail,  niHiuri/.s'/n/ncfafm.     Mr'ulc  perch,  or  painted  fail. 


Ol 


A.  .'^mall  lish,  IVom  lour  to  twelve  iii(  lies  Ion";  not  very  < 


ry  common  in  the 
Ohio.     More  common  in  Ihe  small  lril»iitiiri(\s. 

(Jilded  sun  lish,  ii/if/irlis'  miicrocliini.  A  hcaiiliful  fi.sli,  tlircc  or  four 
inches  lonnf.     CommoM  in  the  Ohio  and  its  waters. 

Blue  sun  i\s\[,iv!it/i(li.srt/aitrlla.      Ilirdly  so  hirf^'c,  as  the  formor. 

Red  eye  sun  iisli,  !r/i(/irlh  <ri//firnp.s.  JJed  eyes. — T,en;,'tli  llireo  to 
ei^'lil  inches. 

Eared  sun  fish,  ichthdis  aiirita.     Sun  fish.     LcnL'th  from  three   to 


twelve  inches. 


{  i 


,>••■•"..";• 

T15r:'       •. 

'^' 


*j|. 


Ill 


80  MISSISSllTI    VALLKY. 

Big  oared  aun  fish,  icluhdia  megalotis.  A  lino  small  fish.  JiCiigtIi 
IVotn  three  to  ei<,'ht  inches.  Common  in  the  waters  of  Kentucky,  \\\\*^ 
gar  namo,  red  belly. 

River  bass,  Icponus.  Common  in  the  Ohio  and  its  waters,  and  easily 
taken  with  the  hook. 

Pale  bass,  Icpovds  pallida.     Yellow  bass.     From  four  to  ten  inchcsv 

Streaked  clieeks  hpomis  tnfasciata.  Yellow  ijcrch  one  of  the  best 
kinds  of  table  fish.  Length  froiu  one  to  two  feet.  Common  in  the  Ohio 
and  its  waters.  ' 

Brown  bass,  hpomis  fi'xuolarls.  Black  perch.  Length  from  one  to 
two  feet.     Like  tiie  former  a  line  firfii.  ^ 

Trout  buss,  lepomis  salmonca.     Brown  trout.     Length  from  six  to 
twenty-lour  inches.     Delicate  and  white  flesh. 
,.  Spotted  river  bass,  lepomis  notata.     Same    vulgar   name   with    the 

former,  and  commonly  considered  the  same  fish.  Dillers  from  it  in  many 
respects. 

Sun  fish  river  bass,  lepomis  iclifheloidcs.     White  bass. — Length  from 
four  to  eight  inches. 
ii>  Gold  ring  promoxis,  2J''i^inoxis  annularis.     Silver  perch.    Length  from 

three  to  six  inches. 

Red  eye,  agloccntrus.  Green  bass.  A  very  bcautful  fish,  from  three 
to  twelve  inches  long. 

White  eyed  barbot,  pogosf.oma  Icucops.  Bearded  siui  fish.  A  very 
beautiful  fish,  twelve  inches  long,  and  sometimes  weighs  a  pound. 

Hog  fish,  ctheostoma.      Hog  bass.     Loiigth  frcsm  three  to  nine  inches. 

Bass  hog  fish,  ctheostoma  calUura.     Minny  bass. 

Foxtail  hog  fish,  etheosloma jiahelletta.     Foxtail. 

Black  hog  fish,  ctheostoma  nigra.     Black  minny.     A  very  small  fisli. 

Blunt  nose  hog  fish,  etlieotitoma  blcnnoidcs.  A  very  singular  lookiiif,', 
small  fish.  ,  . 

Connnon  hog  fisli,  ctheostoma.  eaprodcs.  Length  from  two  to  six 
inches. 

Abdo.mi.\al  Fisin:s.  Ohio  gold  fish,  dromololus  chrysocolor.  Ohio 
shad.  Length  from  t'.vtlvr  lo  eighteen  ijiclies.  Is  seen  in  the  spring; 
from  Cincinnati  to  the  fidls  of  tlie  Ohio. 

Spf)t(cd  giz/ard,  (/oro.5/()Wu/  ro/at'rt.     Hickory  shad. — Length  oineto 
^  ten  inches. 

Ohio  gold  herring  noiemigonus  avratus.  Gold  herring.  Length  fio;n 
four  to  (>ight  inches.     Flesh  tolerably  good. 

False  herring,  hyodon.  Herring.  Five  species.  Not  at  all  like  llic 
herring  of  the  Atlantic  waters.     Tolerable  fish  for  the  table* 


* 

J' 

*■; 


m. 


I  i^>iil:^. 


81 


liCiigili 
:ky,     YuU 

and  easily 


ten  inches* 
of  the  best 
in  tlic  Ohio 

• 
rom  one  to 

Voni  six  to 

;   with    the 
1  it  in  many 


Length  from 


jcngth  from 

,  firom  throe        ;^ 

h.     A  very 
ound.  ^ 

nine  inches.       j, 

m 

ry  small  fish. 
idar  iookhig, 

1  two  to  six 

color.     Ohio      igi 
in  the  sprinj.^ 

ngtij  nine  to 

Length  fro:n 

all  like  the 
iblc» 


Sulino,  troul.     TJiirf  species  is  foiuul  on  llie  upj>er  walerrf  of  tiie  Mis 
soiiri  and  the  Ohio.     The  white  fish  of  the  Juki's  hits  lieL>n  sometimes 
classed  in  this  class,  :ind  lias  ])Oon   said    to    he    found    on    the    liead 
Wiitcrs  of  the  Wabash  iind  llic  Mi;i:v.i. 

Allo<fhnny  trout,  .sahno  Alleifhanlen.s'is.  ]''oun(I  on  ihc  mountain 
brooks  of  the  Alloghnny  imd  jMouoiitjaliol:!. —  rien^>th  ei;4lit  inches.  Fine 
for  the  (able.     Take  1)ie  bail,  like  all  tiiis  species  witli  a  spring. 

Black  Irout,  sal/no  v'tgrcscens.  R.are  species.  Found  oji  the  waters 
of  Laurel  hill.     Length  six  inches. 

Minny,  mlnnvlus.  Bait  fisli.  Of  ihcsc  diniinnlivc  fisli,  there  aro  a 
vast  num1)or  in  the  difforpnt  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  Sixteen  spe- 
cies have  been  noted  on  the  (Jhio.  Tiic  '•  rgd"  kinds  of  them  bear  the 
name  of  shiner. 

(jrold  head  sinner,  luxllus  cIiri/,socephaluSf  Cold  chnh.  Length  six 
inches.  i 

Kentucky  shiner,  h/x'ilus  Kcnliiclicn^is*    Tvod  tail. — Fine  fish  bait. 

Yellow  shiner,  luxhis  Intcrruptii:^.  Yclh/w  chu  h.— -Three  inches  in  length. 

Big  black  chub,  .scmoiilua  dor.s'uli.^  Big  back  mimiy.  Length  three 
lo  six  inches. 

Big  head  chub,  scmotilm  ccpI'ali/.%  I3ig  wioulh.  licngth  from  six  to 
ci'dit  inches. 

Silver  side  fall  fish,  rulilus plagyrus^  Silver  side. — Length  f/om  four 
to  six  inches. 

Bailing  fall  fish,  riifihts  coiiiprcssus.     Length  from  two  to  four  inches. 

Anomal  fall  fish,  ruiilufi  aiiomahs^     Length  tliree  inches. 

Red  minny,  ruilhis  ruber ,  A  beautiful,  small,  red  fish,  two  inches  ift 
I'Migth. 

Black  headed  flat  bend..     LeiiglJi  llirce  inches. 

Ohio  carp  sucker.  Length  from  one  to  three  ft^et»  Good  for  the 
table.     Taken  with  the  hook,  seine  or  spear. 

Buffalo  carp  sucker.  Found  on  the  lower  waters  of  the  Ohio.  Vul- 
gar name,  buffalo  perch.  One  "foot  in  length.  One  of  the  best  fish  for 
the  table. 

Brown  buffalo  fish,  rdtoafomvs  Irihahis.  One  of  tjic  ])est  fishes  in  tho 
weslorn  waters,  and  foiuul  in  all  of  lliom.  Leiifjth  from  two  to  three 
feet,  and  weighing  from  ten  to  thirty  pounds. 

Black  bijfialo  fish,  calofitoiivif  vhjrr.  Found  in  the  lower  waters  of 
the  Ohio  and  in  the  waters  of  the  .Mississippi.  Sometimes  weighs  fifty 
poiuuK    • 

Olive  c;irp  suckef.  A  variety  vf  ihe  former.  Noi  so  good  for  the 
tabic.     (,'Ommonly  called  c-,Yp. 


82 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLKV. 


!     ;      •Ul^-M 


Sailing  mckcr^rafontomii.s'  vvliftr.    Skim  bnck.  fiOiiglli  from  twelve  lo 
fifteen  inches. 

Mud  sucker,  cato.'itowua  xaiithopu,%  Length  from  six  to  ten  inchen 
Flesh  very  soft. 

Black  faced  sncker,  eofosfomiis  iiKlaiioi)n»  JUlack  suctter.  Tjcngtii 
from  four  to  six  in<lies. 

Black  hack  sucker,  i-ato.s'foiiiiis  mchiiiofn.s,  Uluc  iuckcr.  Length 
eight  inclies. 

lied  tail  sucker,  cafoNfomus'  cri/fknis.     Red  horse.— TiCngth  one  foot. 

Kentucky  Slicker,  c*f/<>,s7o/////.s' //r.r//(>.v//.s'.  Coinmon  sucker.  Ten  to 
twelve  inches  long.      IJites  at  the  liook,  and  is  tine  for  the  table. 

Big  mouthed  sucker,  inriraNfointifi,  IJrown  sncker. — 'I'aken  with  the 
seine. 

Pittsburgh  sucker,  eftfo.tfomm  Dmit/cfitif.  Wiiite  sncker.  Ticngtii 
fifteen  to  twenty  inches,  l'\)nnd  in  the  Ohio,  neu*  Piltsburglu  Good 
for  the  table. 

Long  sucker,  cnfo.\'fo7nu.f  cloinrafii,^  Brown  sMclcer,  Length  fifleeii 
to  twenty  inches,  Ofliicsanie  <iualit^',  and  I'oinid  in  the  same  waters 
with  the  former. 

Black  suckrel,  ci/chpfi/s  ///V/v.vcrw.sv  Ttarclf  seeii  in  the  Ohio  and 
Missouri.     Fine  for  tiie  taltloa     licngtli  two  {\\% 

Cat  fish, pinulodit.w  This  is  the  most  conmion  fish  !n  all  the  western 
waters.  Twelve  sin^cies  have  already  been  noted  in  the  Ohio.  The  vari- 
eties are  very  niunerons  in  thi*  waters  west  of  that  river. 

They  are  without  scales,  and  of  all  <  lors  and  sizes.  Their  mouths, 
when  oix>n,  arc  circular.  'J'hey  are  easily  taken  with  a  hook.  They  re- 
ceive their  English  name  from  the  nois(>  which  they  make,  when  at  rest, 
a  noise  very  similar  to  the  purring  of  a  cat,  and  one  of  the  most  familiar 
to  those,  who  are  used  to  th(>  w(>stern  waters. 

Sjwtted  cat  fish,  .s/////v/.v  viaculo.siis.  While  cat  fisli. — ^LengtJi  from  one 
to  three  feet.     Flesh  good. 

Blue  cat  fish,  j^ifiirJoilm  crrulcfccns,  "TliQf  liaTc  bccu  takcnj.  weighinj^ 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds* 

Silver  cat  fish,  jrimchuJits  ariryritn. 

Clammy  cat  fish,  jumcloih/.s  risnysm 

Clouded  cat  fish,  ^>//;/<7()</w.v  wrcw/f).vM#. 

Yellow  cat  fish,  phncloilna  caprius^ 

Black  cat  fish,  p'ii:t(hulufi  fiirlatt. 

Yellow  headed  cat  fiyh.  jniiicJodiis  xanthociphahts. 

Mud  cat  fish,  pimclodus  'imosm 

Mud  cat,  pilodictU.    Mud  tish     Bune«  itself  u:  the  mud.    Sorae- 


T 


fcet. 


FI8IIi:S. 


88 


oin  twelve  (o 


o  ten  inches 


(),     The  vari- 


iirlh  from  one 


ceiii  weighing      J 


® 


times  weighs  twenty  poiuids.     JJiles  at  the  Jiook,  and  is  good  for  tlio 

tal)io. 

Yt'llow  hack,  7/o^/nM /7(/ivf.  Corniiioiily  conroiiiidi^d  with  tlic  yellow 
cat  lish;  hut  is  a  (lillcrrnl  lisli. 

Ohio  ioU'Y,  /ii/ixrfrli inn  iiKirntjitrnmi.  liCiiglli  two  or  Ihrco  inches. 
Makes  itself  a  (•(•II  by  siirr()mi<liii;^r  jis  place  with  pchhios;  liencc,  from 
the  Virginia  word'  tote,'  to  carry,  called  a  t()t(!r. 

Ohio  ribband  tisli,  sar(\Hs'f.s  vitlatuH.  JiCiigth  iVoni  six  to  twelve  inches 
Gar  fish. 

Pike,  cmx.  We  have  noted  %  great  many  species  of  pikes  in  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi,  and  tlieir  waters.  'I'liey  are  called  pike,  pickerel 
and  jack  fisli;  and  pcrlrclly  rcscnibl(!  tli(!  lisli  of  tin;  same  names  in  tho 
Atlantic  watc-rs.  Tlie  Indians  of  tlie  Wabasli  and  tiic;  Illinois  call  them 
piccannau.     Tliey  are  ofall  si/cs,  from  lialfa  jjonnd  to  twenty  ])ounds. 

E.wx  r}ftatif,s;pck  fisli.     White  pickerel,    jjength  sometimes  five  feet. 

Gar  fish,  hpio.sfn/.s:  'I'licrc  are  a  great  many  varieti(!S  in  tlu;  western 
country.  The  alligator  gar  is  sometimes  eight  fe(!t  in  hjngth;  and  is 
strong,  fierce,  voracious,  and  formidabh,'  not  oidy  to  tlu;  fish,  which  he 
devours  by  tribes,  but  even  to  men,  who  go  into  the  water  near  him. 
Their  scales  will  give  fire  with  tlu^  steel.  'J'hey  are  not  used  for  the 
table;  but  whether  this  be  owing  to  the  dilliculty  of  skinning  them,  or  to 
the  badness  of  the  flesh,  we  km)W  not. 

Duck  bill  gar  fish,  hpiofticvfi  plafo.stmnu.s:  Length  sometimes  four 
feet.     Taken  with  the  hook,  or  the  spear,-  and  is  good  for  the  table. 

White  gar  fish,  Irpto.stcu^  alhus,  i«ength  four  to  six  feet.  Resembles 
the  pike  in  shape. 

Ohio  gar  fish,  Icpiostcus  oxycus.  Length  six  feet. — Rarely  seen;  and 
not  good  for  the  table. 

Long  bill  gar  fish,  Icpiostcus  hmplrostris.     Length  forty  inches. 

Devil-jack-di;unond  fish,  litliolcpis  aihimnullnvs.  'J'his  is  the  monster 
of  the  Ohio.  It  is  rarely  seen  as  high,  as  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  and  proba- 
bly, lives  in  the  Mississippi.  Leugth  from  four  to  ten  feet.  One  was 
caught,  which  weighed  fom- hundred  poiuids.  Jt  is  extremely  voracious; 
and  like  the  alligator  gar  fish,  or  Icpiostcus  fcrox,  its  scales  will  give  fire 
with  the  steel. 

Ar<mi.AL  Fishes.  "Rxo^^  \vi\\  cc\  anguilla  laticauda.  Length  from 
two  to  four  feet. 

Black  eel,  anguilla  attcrinm.  Same  length  as  the  former  j  and  fine  for 
the  table.  ® 

Yellow  bellied  ecT,  anguilla  xantJiomclas  Length  from  two  to  three 
feet. 


h^ 


^ 


n 


,  i 


84 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLl^Y. 


Yellow  eel,  anguUla  lutca.     Length  hvn  feet.    This  is  the  best  of  the 
species  for  llie  table. 

Atklosiax  FisirRs.     Stiirpoon,  ftcrtpniseri     There  arc  six   species 
found  in  the  Ohio. 

Spotted  stiugeon,  accrpcnacr  macidosiffi,     f-ength  two  feel. 

Shovel  fish  fi\x\xgeo\\^  acripcnucr  philoninchuvs.  Sliovej  fish.  Tiengtii 
two  to  three  feet.     Weight  twenty  pounds.     Tolerable  fo,i'  the  table. 

Fall  sturgeon,  accipcnscr  scrolhnus.  Lenglh  ii/e  to  six  feet.  Indif- 
ferent for  the  table. 

Ohio  sturgeon,  acciprnsei'  Ohlocnsh,     fiCngth  three  to  four  feet. 

Big  mouth  sturgeon,  acclprnacr  macrostnimt^  X«ength  four  feet» 
Good  for  the  l.ible.     Very  largo  mmiUj. 

Flat  nose  dou))lc  fm,  dincctiin  truncatutK  liengtli  tvvd:  fee*,  ^kin 
thick  and  leathery i. 

Western  spade  fish,  polijodonjvl/mn,  Is  fiot  <*n:feu,  Length  fiom  flno 
to  three  feet. 

Toothless  paddle  fish,  platinostra  cdenfuLi.  Tlength  fJn'ee  to  five  feet, 
and  sometimes  weigh'",  lifly  pounds.  Indifferent  ibr  the  table.  The 
spatula  is  cunei  ^Mni,  eight  to  twelve  inrliet  long,  and  used  for  digging  in 
the  mud. 

Gourd  fish  sturgeon,  accijwnser  tagfnarfus^t  Conrd  fish*  Lfngth  twa 
to  three  feet. 

Mississippi  saw  fis?i.  p*?«)'/.'?  Mississippfnisfs.  f^ongth  three  to  six 
feet.  Twenty-six  long  sharp  teeth  on  cither  side^  in  the  form  of  a  saw; 
and  is  commonly  shown  in  museur  s. 

Spotted  horn  fish,  jy/'oceros  macculalus.  Length  two  to  th'-ee^^et. 
Horn  one  fourth  the  length  of  the  body 

The  fish  of  the  western  rivers  are  generally  decried  in  comparison 
with  those  of  the  Atlantic  waters.  The  comparison  has  not  been  fairly 
instituted.  The  former  are  all,  except  those  hereafter  described,  as  be 
longing  to  the  market  of  New  Orleans,  fi?h  of  fresh  waters;  the  latter 
chiefly  of  the  sea.  Fresh  water  fish,  in  geneval,  will  not  vie  with  those 
of  the  sea.  The  comparison  being  between  the  fresh  water  fish  of  the 
one  country  r.nd  the  other,  the  latter  are  as  good  as  the  former.  The 
shad  and  salmon  of  the  Atlantic  waters,  it  is  true,  are  no  where  found 
though  we  have  fish,  that  i)o  ir  tlie  saino  nrmie.  Those  fine  fish  have 
their  general  habitancy  in  the  sea.  The  trout  of  fiOuisiana  and  Florida 
is  not  the  same  with  the  fine  fi^h  of  that  name,  that  is  taken  in  the  cold 
mountain  streams  of  the  northern  country  of  the  Atlantic.  It  is  a  fisliof 
the  perch  class,  beautifully  marked  with  golden  stripes,  and  taking  b.iit 
with  a  spring,  like  the  trout,     It  weighs  from  one  to  four  pound?      ft  is 


pu'cann 
We 


Alligj 
swifter, 
round  ci 


# 


FISHEtf. 


8& 


f 


3  V)cst  of  the 


SIX  species 


3I1.    TiBngtli 
le  table, 
eet.     Indif- 

iir  feet, 
I   four  fcet» 

feet.    Sliin 

>li  from  «no 

)  to  five  fee*, 
tablo.  The 
or  digging  in 

Lwigth  twa 


three  to  six 
m  of  a  saw;      £;| 

D  Hre®  |eet. 

comparison 
t  been  liiirly 
cribed,as  bo 
rs ;  the  latter 
io  with  tliose 
r  fish  of  the 
c»rnicr.     The 

wlsere  found 
fine  fish  have 
a  and  Florida 
n  in  the  cold 

It  is  a  fish  of 
id  taking  h;iit 
oimds       ft  is 


a  fine  flavored,  solid  fish  for  the  tnblc.  No  an  filing  can  compare  with 
that  of  this  fish  in  the  clear  pino  wood  streams  of  the  southern  divisions 
of  this  country.     With  fisli  bait,  a  barrel  may  be  taken  in  a  few  hours. 

Cat  fish  of  the  Mississippi,  fiilui'its  Miff-'iisfiipplciisis',  diflers  considera- 
bly from  tJiat  of  the  Ohio.     It  is  often  taken  weighing  over  an.  hundred 

pounds. 

Buffalo  of  the  INIississippi,  huhuhia  Mifisls.s'ipplcnsif},  is  larger,  and  has 
a  difilerent  appearance  from  that  of  the  Ohio.  Tin7  are  taken  in  immense 
quantities  in  the  meadows  and  lakes  of  the  Mississippi,  and  greatly 
resemble  the  Atlantic  shad. 

Perch,  jjf/'ca  maculatdf^,  l|,  H  .^ne  fish^  weighing  from  three  to* 
five  pounds. 

Bar  fish,  pcrca  anrcnfea,  are  taken  with  a  liook.  They  go  in  shoals 
fn  the  southern  running  waters.  They  weigli  from  one  to  three  pounds, 
and  are  beautifully  striped  with  brown  and  silver. 

Drum,  rock  fish,  slieep's  head,  &c.  arc  hirgc  and  fine  fish,  taken  in  the 
lakes  on  tlic  gulf  of  Mexico,  that  arc  partially  mixed  with  salt  water, 
and  so  snlinc,  ai  not  to  be  potable.  They  correspond  in  size  to  the  cod 
and  haddock  of"  tiic  Atlantic  coiuitryj  and  arc  among  the  most  common 
fisli  in  the  market  of  New  Orleans. 

Spade,  or  shovel  fish,  plafi rostra  cdcntida,  a  mud  fish  of  the  middle 
regions  of  the  valley,  found  in  nmddy  lakes.  They  weigh  from  ten  to 
fif'y  pounds,  arc  without  scales,  and  have  in  advance  of  their  mouths,  a 
smootl),  bony  substance,  mucli  resembling  an  apothecary's  spatula,  from 
six  inches  to  a  foot  in  length,  and  two  or  three  inches  in  width.  Its  use, 
anrarently,  is  to  turn  up  the  mud  in  order  to  find  subsistence.  They 
an !  extremely  fat,  and  are  taken  fur  their  oil.  We  have  never  remarked 
this  fish  in  any  museum,  altJiough  to  us  the  most  strange  and  whimsical 
looking  fish,  we  have  seen. 

The  pike  of  tiiese  waters  is  precisely  the  same  fish,  as  is  taken  with 
thnt  name  in  the  Atlantic  streams.  A  fine  fisli  of  this  species,  called 
ph'cannmt,  is  taken  in  the  Illim^is  and  tlic  ujiper  waters  of  the  Wabash. 

We  have  seen  one  instance  of  a  horribly  deformed  animal,  apparently 
iruerrnediate  between  the  class  tctfiulo,  and  fisjies.  It  was  in  a  water  of 
tlic  W;'.sliila,  and  we  had  not  a  fiiir  opportunity  to  examine  it.  It  is  called 
to;id  fish;  has  -a  shell,  like  a  tortoise;  but  has  the  other  aspects  of  a  fish. 
It  is  said  to  be  sufficiently  strong,  to  bear  a  man  on  its  back;  and  from 
the  account  of  those,  who  iiave  examined  it,  this  animal  must  be  a  singu- 
lar hfsu,?  natiira'. 

Alligator  gar,  a  fish,  sii;i])ed  ?ike  a  pike;  but  still  longer,  rounder  and 
swifter.  Its  dart  equals  the  flight  of  birds  iu  rapidity,  ft  has  a  long, 
roimd  ond  pointed  mouth,  thick  set  with  sharp  tooth.     Its  body  is  covered 


86 


MIRSlSSirPI    VALLEY. 


with  scales  of  such  u  texture,  as  to  bo  impeuctrahlo  hy  a  rifle  bullet, 
and,  when  dry,  to  make  iire  with  steel.  It  is  a  fish  of  most  outlandish 
ap|x;arance,  \vei<fliiii;j[  iVoni  lil'ly  to  two  lnuuired  pounds.  It  is  a  terrible 
and  voracious  aiiim;il,  biting-  asniuler  wliatover  it  can  emlu'ace  in  its  lont^' 
mouth;  and  is  to  us,  who  iiave  seen  it  in  waters,  where  we  bathed,  a  fur 
more  formidable  animal,  than  the  alligator,  1|  if,  in  fact,  the  shark 
of  rivers. 

The  fish  of  the  gulf  shore  arc  of  a  very  peculiar  character, — being 
taken  in  shallow  lakes,  principally  comi)oscd  of  fresh  water,  but  having 
outlets  into  the  gulf,  throngli  which,  when  the  winil  blows  strongly  from 
the  south,  the  sea  water  is  forced  to  such  a  degree,  as  that  they  become 
salt,  the  fish  possess  an  intcrmediato  tliaracler,  i»etween  those  of  fresh 
and  salt  water.  ® 

Some  of  the  kinds  and  sizes  of  the  cat  fish  are  fine  for  t?ie  table.  The 
fishes  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  generally,  arc  tough,  coarse,, 
large  and  unsavory.  Tlic  trout,  so  called,  and  the  bar  fish,  are  fine.  The 
picannau,  ikm'cIi,  and  other  fish  of  the  Illinois,  are  represented,  as  excel- 
lent; and  in  that  river,  they  are  taken  in  great  abundance.  A  line,  here 
called  a  '  trot  line,'  drawn  across  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois,  where  it  enters 
the  Missispipi)i,  with  hooks  a])i)cnded  at  regular  distances,  took  five  hun- 
jdred  ])ounds  in  a  night.  We  have  taken  in  Big  creek,  a  water  of  the 
"Washita,  seventy  five  trout  in  two  liours  witli  the  hook.  Except  the  trout, 
the  small,  yellow  cat  fish,  the  pike,  the  bar  fish  and  the  perchj.  the  fish  of 
the  western  waters  are  not  nmch  admired. 


HMiM:- 


RivEKs.  Under  this  head  wc  propose  fo  (describe  the  Mississippi  only, 
reserving  our  description  of  the  other,  western  rivers,  until  we  treat  of 
the  states  and  regions,  in  which  they  i)riticipally  run.  The  Mississippi 
imparts  a  name  and  a  character  to  the  valley.  It  has  been  described  with 
a  frequency  and  minuteness,  to  give  any  new  attemjit  at  delineating  it 
an  air  of  triteness  and  repetition.  But  the  very  idea  of  this  noble  stream 
is  invested  with  an  interest  and  grandeur,  which  will  cause,  that  a  faithful 
accoimt  of  it  can  never  become  trite,  or  tedious.  It  is,  in  some  respects, 
the  noblest  river  in  the  world, — draininj;  a  larger  valley,  and  irrig.'iting  a 
more  fertile  region,  and  having,  i)robably,  a  longer  course,  than  any  other 
stream.  Contrary  to  tlu;  g(>neral  analogy  of  very  large  rivers,  it  bends 
from  north  to  south,  and  traverses  no  inconsiderable  section  of  the  globe. 
It  commences  in  many  branches,  that  rise,  for  the  most  part,  in  wild  rice 
lakes;  but  it  traverses  no  great  distance,  before  it  has  become  a  broad 
stream.  From  its  commencement,  it  carries  a  wide  expanse  of  waters, 
with  a  current  scarcely  i)crceptible,  along  a  marshy  bed.  At  other  times, 
its  fishes  are  seen  darling  over  a  white  sand,  in  waters  almost  a»  transpa- 


RIVEIIS. 


87 


ifle  bullet, 
outlandish 
s  a  terrible 
in  its  long 
ilhcd,  a  fur 
y  the  shark 

tor,— being 
but  having 
rongly  from 
liey  become 
osc  of  fresh 

table.  The 
ugh,  coarse^ 
re  fine.  The 
!(1,  as  excel- 
A  line,  here 
icrc  it  enters 
lok  five  hun- 
watcr  of  the 
^pt  the  trout, 
hy  the  fish  of 


pissippi  only, 

we  treat  of 

Mississippi 

scribed  with 

elineating  it 

noble  stream 

hat  a  faithful 

ime  respects, 

irrigating  a 

lan  any  other 

:>rt«,  it  bends 

f  the  globe. 

in  wild  rice 

■onic  a  broad 

m  of  waters, 

other  times, 

t  asftranspa- 


r> 


4 


rent  as  air.  At  other  times,  it  is  comprossed  to  a  narrow  and  rapid 
nirrent  between  higii  and  hoary  lime  stone  bliilVs.  Having  accpiired  in 
a  course,  foll(twing  its  meanders,  of  three  hundred  miles,  a  width  of  half 
a  mile,  and  htiving  formed  its  dislinclivc  <-hara('t<M-,  it  j)reeipitates  its 
waters  down  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony. — Thence  it  glides,  alternately 
through  beautiful  meadows  and  deep  forosts,  sw(  lliug  in  its  advancing 
march  with  the  tribute  of  an  hundred  streams.  In  its  progress  it  receives 
a  tributary,  wliicii  of  itself  has  a  course  of  uu)rc  than  a  thousand  leagues, 
Thence  it  rolls  its  accumulated,  turbid  and  swcejung  mass  of  waters 
flirougli  continued  f(»rests,  only  broken  hen;  and  there  by  the  axe,  in 
lonely  grandeur  to  the  sea.  No  thinking  mind  can  contemplate  this 
mighty  and  resistless  wave,  sweeping  its  proud  course  from  ])oint  to  iwint 
curviuf  round  its  bends  throu'>-li  the  dark  forests,  without  a  fc(  ling  of 
sublimity.  The  hundred  shores,  laved  by  its  waters;  the  h)ng  course  of 
its  tributaries,  some  of  which  are  already  the  abodes  of  cultivation,  and 
others  pursuing  an  immense  course  with(nit  a  solitary  dwelling  of  civil- 
ized man  on  their  banks;  the  muncrous  tribes  of  savages,  that  now  roam 
on  its  borders;  the  afi'ecting  and  imperishal)lc  traces  of  generations, 
that  are  gone,  leaving  no  other  memorials  of  their  existence,  or  materials 
for  their  history,  than  their  tombs,  thiit  rise  at  frequent  intervals  ahmg  its 
banks;  the  dim,  but  ghnious  anticipations  of  the  future; — these  are 
suljjects  of  contemplation,  that  can  not  but  associate  themselves  with 
the  view  of  this  river,      s, 

It  rises  in  high  table  land;  though  the  country  at  its  source  has  the 
aspect  of  a  vast  marshy  valley.  A  medium  of  the  dill'erent  authorities, 
touching  the  point  of  its  origin,  gives  it  to  be  in  latitude  17^  47'.  Travel- 
lers and  authorities  dill'er,  too,  in  the  name  of  the  lake,  or  reservoir, 
where  it  is  suppos(xl  to  commence.  Some  name  Turtle  lake,  and  some 
Leech  lake,  as  its  source.  The  truth  is,  that  in  speaking  of  the  source 
of  the  Mississippi,  the  Missouri,  the  Nile,  and  otlicr  great  rivers,  readers 
are  only  amused  with  fictions  and  names.  Of  a  nameless  number  of 
tributaries,  it  would  be  impossil)le  to  say,  which  carried  the  most  water 
or  had  the  greatest  length  of  course,  or  l)cst  merited  the  honor  of  being 
considered  the  parent  stream.  A  great  number  of  streams,  rising  in  the 
same  j)latean,  and  interlocking  with  the  waters  of  Red  river,  and  the 
other  streams  of  lake  Winnipeck,  unite  to  form  the  St.  Peter's  and  the 
Mississippi.  Dillcrcnt  authorities  assign  to  these  rivers  such  ditlcrent 
names,  that  we  should  rather  perplex,  than  instruct  our  readers,  by 
putting  down  names,  as  having  more  authority  than  others.  The  St. 
Peter's,  the  principal  upper  branch  of  tlio  Mississippi,  has  been  scientifi- 
cally and  faithfully  explored  by  the  gentlemen  of  Long's  expedition. — 
The  St.  Peter's  receives  ten  or  twelve  tributaries,  some  of  them  considera- 


\      St 


li  f 


: 


) 


K  11 


88  MISSISiJil'PI    VAI.KCV. 

ble  streams,  bofitrc  its  junction  willi  the  Mississippi.  'Vho  piiiici[);il  of 
these  iire  called  Spirit,  Ile;iver,  Yellow,  Medicine,  I'ed  Wood,  Aux  Liiirds 
nnd  Blue  E:utli  rivers  on  the  west  side,  nnd  Miiiw.dvakon'jf  Jin.l  Eperviei 
from  the  east.  The  principal  river  of  the  west  ibrk  of  th(.'  Mississippi  is 
the  river  do  ('orlxMii.  The  otiicr  fork,  Ix^fore  its  jtnu'lion  witii  the  main 
nvcr,  receives  Deer,  ^Feadow,  Swan  ;ind  Savanna,  rivers.  IjcI  )W  Cedur 
and  Muddy  rivers,  between  i'P  and  UP,  tliere  are  strong  rapids.  JJctwccii 
them  and  the  falls  arc  Crow  and  Rnm  rivers. 

With  tiic  common  ]>ropcnsity  of  traveJIers  to  cxaffrrerate,  the  falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  nntil  very  recently,  have  l)een  much  overrated.  Instead  of 
the  cxtrava;:rant  estimates  of  llic  first  l"'rench  writers,  or  the  fall  of  iil'iy 
feet  assi<jned  to  them  by  more  modern  authorities;  the  real  fall  of  llii 
Mississippi  here  is  between  sixteen  and  sevcnicen  feet  of  perpendicnlni 
descent.  Though  it  has  not  the  slightest  claim  to  compare-  with  that  of 
Niagara  in  grandeur,  it  furnishes  an  impressive  ajid  benntil'id  spcctaclu 
in  the  loneliness  of  the  desert.  Tiie  adjoining  scenery  is  of  the  most 
striking  and  romantic  character;  and  ;is  the  traveller  listens  to  the  solemn 
roar  of  the  falls,  as  it  sinks  into  feeble  echoes  in  the  forests,  a  thrilling,' 
story  is  told  him  of  the  love  and  desjjair  of'a  young  Dacota  Indian 
woman,  who,  goaded  by  jealousy  towards  lier  hissband,  who  Jiad  taken 
another  wife,  placed  her  young  children  in  a  canoe,  and  chaunting  t!i(> 
Temembranccs  of  love  and  broken  vows,  precipitated  herself  and  hor 
infants  down  tlie  falls.  Indians  are  always  romancers,  if  not  poets. 
Their  traditions  say,  that  these  ill-fated  beings,  together  with  their  canoo. 
so  perished,  tiiat  no  trace  of  them  was  seen.  l>ut  they  suppose,  that  licr 
spirit  wanders  still  near  this  spot,  and  that  she  is  seen  on  sunny  niorniii(;5. 
carrying  her  babes  in  the  accustomed  manner  bound  to  her  bosom,  ami 
still  mourning  the  inconstancy  of  her  husband. 

Above  the  falls,  the  river  lias  a  width  of  five  dv  six  liunt^red  yard?. 
Immediately  below,  it  contracts  to  a  width  of  two  hnndretl  yards;  ami 
there  is  a  strong  rapid  for  a  considerable  distance  below.  Ninety  milon 
helow  the  falls,  and  between  44°  and  45°,  it  receives  Rapid  and  St.  Croix 
rivers;  the  former  from  the  west,  and  the  latter  from  the  east.  The  St. 
Croix  is  reputed  to  have  a  beatable  course  of  two  lii'.ndied  miles,  and 
rises  in  lakes  not  far  from  the  waters  of  lake  Superior. 

Near  44°,  from  the  west  comes  in  Cannon  river,  a  Mibutary,  wliicli 
enters  not  far  above  the  northern  extremity  of  lake  Pepin.  This  is  nn 
more,  than  an  enlargement  of  the  river,  it  is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water, 
of  some  miles  in  length,  and  broadening  in  some  places  from  one  1" 
three  miles  in  width.  Nearly  ;it.  its  lower  extremity,  it  receives  the 
Chippeway  from  the  east,with  a  beatable  coursiT  of  about  an  hundred 
miles.     Betweeji  lake  Pepin  and  the  parallel  of  13"^,  come  in  three  or 


'4 


RIVKRS. 


8J) 


liiiiicipal  of 
Aux  Liiirds 
n;l  Epcrvici 

lississii)])!  is 
itii  tlic  in:uii 
[>t'l  )\v  Cediu 
ds.  Between 

;,  the  falls  of 
liisloiul  of 
D  ill! I  of  fifty 
al  fall  of  lilt 
lerpcndicidiu 
)  willi  that  d!' 
ful  spectacle 
,  uf  the  most 
to  the  solcniii 
Is,  a  thrilliii,!,' 
acotii  Iiufiuii 
ho  had  taken 
.•haunting  tlm 
vsolf  and  iter 
if  not  poets. 
h  their  cauoo. 
pose,  that  her 
my  niomiiiiis. 
:!V  hosom,  and 

iinfired  yard?. 
(1  y;vi"(ls;  anil 
Ninety  miles 
and  St.  Croix 
•ast.  The  St. 
ad  miles,  and 

il'utary,  wliicii 
1.  This  is  no 
hect  of  water, 
!S  from  one  to 
:  receives  the 
It  an  hundred 
{\p  in  three  Of 


four  inconsiderable  rivers,  of  which  Bullalo,  Tihdfand  Black  rivers,  from 
•I,    tlie  east,  are  the  prin('ii)al.  Between  VA°  and  12"  are  I'oot,  Upper  laway 
and  Yellow  rivers  from  the  west,  and  La  Croix  and  Bad  Axe  rivers  from 
(he  e;ist. 

Oiiisronsin  river  ctmies  in,  from  the  east,  al)()iit  the  parallel  of  48°, 
and  near  iJiat  very  noted  ()oint  on  ihe  river,  Prairie  du  Chien.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  considcrahle  tril)utari(;s  above  the  Missouri.  It  has  a  beata- 
ble course  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles,  and  interlocks  by  a  very 
short  ])ortage  vvith  Fox  river,  that  empties  into  Green  bay  of  lake  Michi- 
«ran.  Ill  its  |)ro,yress  towards  the  Missi.s.sippi,  this  river  receives  nine  or 
ten  consideral)le  streams.  It  is  the  licpiid  hi;.diway  of  i)assage  for  the 
Canadian  tradcMs,  trappers  and  sava<fcs,  from  JMaekinaw  and  the  lakes  to 
the  im\u('i\si'  regions  of  the  Mississippi  and  IMissouri.  A  little  below 
this,  comes  in  Turkey  river  from  the  west,  and  J^a  Mine  from  the  east.  It 
is  so  named,  from  its  traversing  the  country  of  the  Illinois  lead  mines. 
Lead  ore  is  (hig  here,  at  IJubuque's,  and  otluir  !ead  mines,  particularly 
on  Riviere  du  Fevc,  or  Fever  river,  probal)ly,  with  greater  ease,  and  in  more 
abundance,  than  in  any  other  country.  These  mines  are  found  on  a  range 
of  hills,  of  which  the  Sinoly  iiioiiiifaiiis  are  the  highest  points.  On  the 
opposite  side  comes  in  Tcfc  dc  Mort.  A  range  of  hills,  that  stretches 
across  the  river  towards  the  Missouri,  is  ])robably,  all  a  country  of  lead 
mines;  for  we  have  seen  beautifid  s})ccimens  of  lead  ore,  dug  near 
tlie  Missouri,  where  this  range  of  hills  strikes  that  river. 

A  little  below  tlie  parallel  of  41°,  comes  in  from  the  west  the  Wapisi- 

pinacon,  a  river  of  some  magnitude  and  a  considerable  length  of  course. 

On  the  same  side,  a  little  lower  down,  comes  in  the  Little  Soutoux;  and 

still  lower,  from  the  east  comes  in  Rock  river,  a  very  considerable,  limpid 

and  beautiful  river,  celebrated  for  the  purity  of  its  waters,  and  the  fineness 

of  its  fish.     Tlie  lands  in  its  vicinity  are  fertdc.     Among  its  principal 

tributaries  are  tlie  Kishwai^e  and  Pektanons.     Near  the  entrance  of  this 

river  into  llic  Mississij)})i  is  the  United  States'  garrison,  fort  Armstrong. 

This  river,  like  the  Ouisconsin,  has  an  easy  conununication  by  a  portage 

with  lake  Michigan,  and  is  considered  beatable  for  a  distance  of  two 

hundred  and  forty  mile;  >     Below  this  river  are  long  rapids  and  at  low 

water,  diflicult  for  large  boats  to  ascend.     A  little  lower  on  this  river, 

on  the  west  side,  comes  in  tlie  laway,  a  stream  of  some  magnitude. 

Below  the  p:irallel  of  41°,  come  in  from  the  eastern  side  two  or  three 

inconsiderable  streams^.    Near  40°,  on  the  west  side,  and  in  the  state  of 

Missouri,  comes  in  the  Des  JMoines,  the  largest  tributary  from  the  west 

above  tlie  Missouri.    It  receives  itself  a  number  of  considerable  streams, 

and  enters  the  Mississippi  by  a  mouth  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide. 

It  is  supposed  to  I'-ivc  a  beatable  course  of  nearly  three  hundred  miles; 

12 


00 


MWSI»«irPI    VALLKY. 


■/'       ; 

liii  1 

A 

mil  1 

i  ^ 

1 

i  i 

i 

1 

ffi 

y. 

1 

and  it  wafers  a  deli/rlii  fill  country.  On  flu;  opposU)  side,  the  waters, 
for  a  lon^  distanec,  wliicli  rise  near  the  Mississi|)i)i,  llcm  intf)  tlio  Tllinoi;^ 
Between  tlio  Dca  MoincH  and  the  Illinois,  conic  in  from  die  west  flu; 
Wacondah,  Fabian,  Jaustioni,  Oidiahali,  or  Halt  river,  BuMif,  or  Cnivrc 
and  Dardenno  rivers.  Those  rivers  are  from  fifty  to  an  lumdrcd  yards 
wide  at  their  mouth,  and  li.'ivc  hoafahle  coinses  of  some  Icnylli. 

In  latitude  31)°,  comes  in  ihc  Illinois  from  the  (Nist, — a  nohic,  hroud 
and  deep  stream,  nearly  four  hundred  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  liavin<f  a 
course  of  about  four  hundred  miles,  and  boatahle  almost  its  wlioh; 
distance.  It  is  the  most  consideraljle  tributary  of  the  Mississippi  abovo 
the  Missouri,  interlocking  at  sonic  seasons  of  the  year,  by  one  of  its 
principal  branches,  the  Dcs  Plaines,  with  the  Chicago  of  lake;  Michigan, 
without  any  portage.  On  this  river,  and  some  of  the  strcarus  above,  tlic 
pcccan  tree  is  found  in  its  utmost  perfection. 

A  little  below  39°,  from  the  west  comes  in  the  mighty  Missouri,  whicli, 
being  botli  longer,  and  carrying  more  water,  thau  the  Mississippi,  and 
imparting  its  own  character  to  the  united  stream  below,  some  havo 
thought,  ought  to  have  given  its  name  to  die  river  from  the  junction. 

Below  the  Missouri,  omitting  the  numberless  and  nameless  small 
streams,  that  come  in  on  either  side,  as  we  Jiave  omitted  them  above,  wo 
shall  only  notice  those  rivers,  that  from  their  magnitude,  or  other  circiim 
stances,  deserve  to  be  named.  The  first  river  of  any  importance,  Ili;it 
enters  the  Mississippi  on  the  west  side,  below  the  Missouri,  is  the  Mar- 
amec,  that  comes  in  twenty  miles  below  St.  Louis,  a  little  above  tlic 
parallel  of  38°.  It  is  nearly  two  hundred  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and 
has  a  course  by  its  meanders  of  two  hundred  miles. 

Nearly  in  38°,  comes  in  from  the  other  side  the  Kaskaskia,  that  runs 
through  a  most  fertile  and  beautiful  country  in  Illinois.  It  is  eighty 
yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  has  a  course  of  nearly  two  Imndred  mil«, 
great  part  of  which,  at  some  seasons  of  the  year,  is  boatahle.  On  the 
opposite  side,  enter  two  or  three  inconsiderable  streams  below  St.  Gene- 
vieve ;  on  one  of  which  is  a  saline,  where  considerable  salt  is  made.  Forty 
miles  below  Kaskaskia,  comes  in  from  the  east  Big  Muddy.  It  is  a  con- 
siderable stream,  remarkable  for  having  on  its  shores  fine  coal  banks.— 
Three  miles  below,  on  the  west  side  enters  Apple  creek,  on  which  used 
to  be  a  number  of  villages  of  Sliawnees  and  Delawares. 

Between  36°  and  37°,  on  the  east  side,  comes  in  the  magnificent 
Ohio,  called  by  the  French,  'Za  Belle  Rhierc.''  It  is  by  far  the  largest 
eastern  tributary  of  the  Mississippi.  At  the  junction,  and  for  an  hundred 
miles  above,  it  is  as  wide,  as  the  parent  stream.  From  this  junction,  it  is 
obvious,  from  the  very  long  course  of  the  Tennessee,  that  river  runnini; 
into  the  Ohio  in  a  direction  aj  pareutly  pavallcl  and  opposite  to  tlic 


i.\ 


Ill  VERS. 


01 


tlio  waters, 
>  tlio  TllinoiH 
tlio  west  tin; 
r,  or  Ciiivn; 
iiidrcd  yards 
Ml.. 

ii()l)l«',  broad 
ith,  luivinf,'  ;i 
st  its  wliolo 
issippi  id)ov(! 
)y  one  of  it^ 
io  Micliij/an, 
ns  above,  the 

isouri,  wliicli, 
^sissippi,  and 
,  some  havu 
junction, 
inelcss  sniiill 
3in  above,  wo 
jthcr  circinn 
)ortancc,  that 
i,  is  the  Mar- 
tic  above  tlic 
s  moutli,  and 

kia,  that  runs 

It  is  eif^hty 

indred  inik-s, 

blc.     On  the 

ow  St.  Gcne- 

madc.  Forty 

It  is  a  con- 

:oal  banks.— 

n  which  used 

!  magnificent 
ar  tlie  largest 
)r  an  hundred 
junction,  it  is 
river  runninj; 
positc  to  the 


I 


'U 


MiflHiHHippi,that  we  can  not  (expect  to  liixl  any  very  important  trlbutarloa 
to  the  latter  river,  for  a  considerabh;  distance  bolow  the  mouth  of  Ohio, 
on  th;itside.  We  find,  in  fact,  that  the  Yazoo  is  the  only  river,  that  enters 
iiorii  the  east,  whicli  detscrves  mention  as  ii  river  of  importance.  Kaski- 
ii()iiip<'<N  lt<'<'ir<")t.  Obian,  Forked  and  Ilatcby  are  inconsiderable 
strcMiiis,  that  enter  from  the  east,  between  tiie  Oiiio  and  tiie  Cliickasaw 
bhills.  NVolf  river  is  of  more  importance,  has  a  considerable  length  of 
course,  and  is  f-fly  yards  wide  at  its  mouth. 

On  the  west  side,  between  35°  and  31°.  enters  the  St.  Francis.  It  is 
two  hundred  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  has  a  comparative  course  of 
four  hundred  miles;  three  hundred  of  which,  on  one  of  its  forks,  are 
considered  bfjatable. 

A  little  above  .'{4°, enters  White  river,  rising  in  the  Black  mountains, 
sep'irating  its  waters  from  those  of  the  Arkansas.  It  has  a  comparative 
course  of  twelve  hundred  miles,  and  enters  by  a  mouth  between  three 
and  four  hundred  yards  widoj;) 

Thirty  miles  below,  and  between  34°  and  33^^,  comes  in  the  Arkansas, 
— next  to  the  Missouri,  the  largest  tributary  from  the  west.  It  enters  by 
!i  mouth  five  lumdred  yards  wide.  Its  waters,  when  the  river  is  full,  are 
of  a  dark  flame  color;  and  its  course,  including  its  meanders,  is  commonly 
computed  at  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles. 

Between  33^^  and  32°,  a  little  aljovc  the  Walnut  hills,  in  the  state  of 
Mississippi,  enters  from  the  east  the  Yazoo,  a  river,  which  rises  in  the 
country  of  the  Indians,  and  passes  through  the  state  of  Mississippi, 
entering  by  a  mouth,  between  two  and  three  hundred  yards  wide.  Below 
the  Yazoo,  on  the  same  side,  bayou  Pierre,  Big  Black,  Cole's  creek  and 
Iloinocliitto,  enter  the  river. 

Eighty  miles  below  Natchez,  and  a  little  above  31°,  on  the  west  side 
jsnters  Rod  river,  which,  although  not  generally  so  wide,  as  the  Arkansas, 
probably,  has  as  long  a  course,  and  carries  as  much  water.  Immediately 
below  the  river,  the  Mississippi  carries  its  greatest  volume  of  water.  Even 
above  Red  river,  ni  high  floods,  water  escapes  from  the  Mississippi  on 
the  west  side,  in  a  great  many  places,  which  never  returns;  but  not  in 
quantity  to  carry  oiY  as  much,  as  Red  river  brings  in.  A  league  and  a 
half  below  Red  river,  on  the  same  side,  is  seen  the  first  important  bayou, 
or  efflux,  that  begins  to  diminish,  and  convey  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico  by 
its  own  separate  channel,  the  surplus  waters  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  the 
Atchafulaya,  whicli,  beyond  question,  was  the  ancient  oed,  by  which  Red 
river  made  its  way  to  the  gulf,  without  mingling  its  waters  with  the 
Mississippi.  In  high  waters,  it  is  now  supposed  to  take  off  as  much,  as 
Red  river  brings  in. 


is.  '''" 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


LilM    |25 

ut  liii   12.2 
£   Uo    12.0 


6"     — 


JS 


<,%. 


V 


HiotDgraphic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STMET 

WnSTER.  i.Y.  145M 

(716)  •72-4503 


02 


MISSISSIPPI    VALIXY. 


imj 


K:* 


Ife 


Twenty  loafTiics  l)clow,  on  the  cast  sido,  comes  in  bayou  Sarah,  tlio 
only  stream  of  any  iniiwrtuncc,  that  enters  lielow  the  outlet  of  Atcliaf-i- 
laya.  Thence  the  t'tlhixcs  receive  all  the  waters,  that  rise  near  tlio 
Mississippi,  and  arc  coiiliimally  diminishinif  ils  volume  of  waters.  Tlic 
next  efflux,  below  Atchifalaya,  is  bayou  Manshac,  or  Tbherville, — an 
outlet  from  the  east  bank,  a  little  below  Baton  Rouge,  throngh  which,  in 
high  waters,  passes  off  a  considerable  mass,  through  lakes  Maurepas, 
Ponchartrain  and  Borgne,  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 

At  no  great  distance  below,  on  the  west  side,  is  another  considerable 
efflux,  bayou  Plaquemine;  and  at  some  distance  below  bayou  La  Fourche, 
a  still  more  considerable  outlet.  Thence  to  New  Orleans,  the  banks  of 
the  river  are  unbroken,  except  by  crevasses.  Below  that  city,  there  is 
no  outlet  of  any  importance,  between  it  and  the  four  mouths,  by  which 
the  Mississippi  enters  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 

It  runs  but  a  little  distance  from  its  source,  as  wo  have  remarked, 
before  it  becomes  a  considerable  stream.  Below  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
it  broadens  to  half  a  mile  in  widtli;  and  is  a  clear,  placid  and  noble 
stream,  with  wide  and  fertile  bottoms,  for  a  long  distance.  A  few  miles 
below  the  river  Des  Moines,  is  a  long  rapid  of  nine  miles,  which,  for  a 
considerable  part  of  the  summer,  is  a  great  impediment  to  the  navigation. 
Below  these  rapids,  the  river  assumes  its  medial  width,  and  character 
from  that  point  to  the  entrance  of  the  IVIissouri.  It  is  a  still  more 
beautiful  river,  than  the  Ohio,  somewliat  gentler  in  its  current,  a  third 
Wi'er,  with  broad  and  clean  sandbars,  except  in  the  time  of  high  waters, 
whe.'  they  are  all  covered.  At  every  little  distance,  there  are  islands, 
somei  mes  a  number  of  them  parallel,  and  broadening  the  stream  to  a 
great  width.  These  islands  are  many  of  them  large,  and  have  in  the 
summer  season  an  aspect  of  beauty,  as  they  swell  gently  from  the  clear 
stream, —  a  vigor  and  grandeur  of  vegetation,  which  contribute  much 
to  the  magnificence  of  the  river.  The  sandbars,  in  the  proper  season? 
are  the  resort  of  innumerable  swans,  geese  and  water  fowls.  It  is,  in 
general,  a  full  mile  in  width  from  bank  to  bank.  For  a  considerable 
distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  it  has  more  than  that  width. 
Altogether,  it  has,  from  its  alternate  bluffs  and  prairies,  the  calmness  and 
transparency  of  its  waters,  the  size  and  beauty  of  its  trees,  an  aspect  of 
amenity  and  magnificence,  which  perhaps,  does  not  belong  in  the  same 
extent  to  any  other  stream. 

Where  it  receives  the  Missouri,  it  is  a  mile  and  a  half  wide.  The 
Missouri  itself  enters  with  a  moulh  not  more  than  half  a  mile  wide- 
The  united  stream  below  has  thence,  to  the  mouth  of  tlie  Ohio,  a  medial 
width  of  little  more  than  three  quarters  of  a  mile.  This  mighty  tributary 


^ 


1 1 


:V 


RIVEnS. 


98 


seems  ratlicr  lo  diminisli,  than  increase  its  width;  but  it  perceptibly 
altcrn  ils  depth,  its  mass  of  waters,  and,  wlint  is  to  be  resrctted,  wholly 
cjuinf^os  its  charac1»T.  It  is  no  loiiL'cr  the  jnpcntlo,  i)lacid  stream,  with 
smooth  shores  and  clean  sandbars;  lint  lias  a  furious  and  boilinj,'  current, 
a  turbid  and  dantrorous  mass  of  swocpini,'  waters,  ja«r<j;ed  and  dilapidated 
shores,  and,  wherever  its  waters  have  receded,  deposites  of  mud.  It 
remains  a  sublime  object  of  contemplation.  The  noble  forest  still 
rises  along  its  banks.  But  its  character  of  calm  magnificence,  that  so 
delighted  the  eye  above,  is  seen  no  more. 

From  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  its  medial  current  is  probably,  less  than 
two  miles  an  hour,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri ;  and  from  onepoint  to  the 
other,  except  at  the  rapids  of  the  Des  Moines,  there  is  four  feet  water  in  tho 
channel  at  the  lowest  stages.     Below  the  Missouri  its  rapidity  shbuld  bo 
rated  considerably  higher,  than  has  been  commonly  done.   Its  medial  rate 
of  advance  is  perhaps  four  miles  an  hour.     The  bosom  of  the  river  is  cov- 
ered with  prodigious  boils,  or  swells,  that  rise  with  a  whirling  motion, 
and  a  convex  surface,  two  or  three  rods  in  diameter,  and  no  inconsider- 
able noise,  whirling  a  boat  perceptibly  from  its  track.     In  its  course, 
accidental  circumstances  shift  the  impetus  of  its  current,  and  propel  it 
upon  the  point  of  an   island,  bend  or  sandbar.     In  these  instances,  it 
tears  up  the  islands,    removes    the  sandbars,  and  sweeps    away   tlie 
tender,  alluvial  soil  of  the  bends,  with  all  their  trees,  and  deposites  the 
spoils  in  another  place.     At  the  season  of  high  waters,  nothing  is  more 
familiar  to  the  ear  of  tlio  people  on  the  river,  than  the  deep  crash  of  a 
land-slip,  in  which  larger  or  smaller  masses  of  the  soil  on  the  banks,  with 
all  the   trees,  are  plunged  into  the  stream.     The  circumstances,  that 
change  the  aspect  and  current  of  the  river,  are  denominated  in  the  vocab- 
ulary of  tho  watermen,  chutes,  races,  chains,  sawyers,  planters,  points  of 
islands,  wreck  heaps  and  cypress  bends.     The  divinity,  most  frequently 
invoked  by  boatmen,  seems  to  have  imparted  his  name  oftener  than  any 
other  to  the  dangerous  places  along  the  river.     The '  DevilV  race  paths^ 
tea  table,  oven,  &c.  arc  places  of  difficult  or  hazardous  navigation,  that 
frequently  occur.     They  are  serious  impediments  to  the  navigation  of 
this  noble  stream  which  is  never  navigated  safely,  except  with  great 
caution.     On  the  immense  wreck  heaps,  where  "masses  of  logs,  like  con- 
siderable hills,  are  piled  together,  the  numerous  wrecks  of  boats,  lying  on 
their  sides  and  summits,  sufficiently  attest  the  character  of  the  river,  and 
remain  standing  mementos  to  caution.  Boats,  propelled  by  steam  power, 
which  can  be  changed  in  a  moment,  to  reverse  the  impulse  and  direction 
of  the  boat,  are  exactly  calculated  to  obviate  the  dangers  of  this  river. 

No  person,  who  descends  this  river  for  the  first  time,  receives  clear 
and  adequate  ideas  of  its  grandeur,  and  the  amount  of  water  which  it 


-v 


04 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


■   <: 


I 


carries.  If  it  be  in  the  sprinfr,  when  the  river  below  the  mouth  of  Ohio 
is  generally  over  its  banks,  allliough  the  sheet  of  water,  that  is  making  itsf 
way  to  tlic  gulf,  is,  perhaps  thirty  miles  wide,  yet  finding  its  way  through 
deep  forests  and  swamps,  tiiat  conceal  all  from  the  eye,  no  expanse  of 
water  is  seen,  but  the  width,  that  is  curved  out  between  the  outline  of 
woods  on  either  bank ;  a»d  it  seldom  exceeds,  and  oftcner  falls  short  of  a 
mile.  But  when  he  sees,  in  descending  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  that  it 
swallows  up  one  river  after  another,  with  mouths,  as  wide  as  itself  with- 
out affecting  its  width  at  all;  when  he  sees  it  receiving  in  succession  the 
mighty  Missouri,  the  broad  Ohio, St.  Francis,  White,  Arkansas,  and  Red 
rivers,  all  of  them  of  great  depth,  length  and  volume  of  water;  swallowing 
up  all,  and  retaining  a  volume,  apparently  unchanged,  he  begins  to  estimate 
rightly  the  increasing  depths  of  current,  that  must  roll  on  in  its  deep 
channel  to  the  sea.  Carried  out  of  the  Balize,  and  sailing  with  a  good 
breeze  for  hours,  he  sees  nothing  on  any  side,  but  the  white  and  turbid 
waters  of  the  Mississippi,  long  after  he  is  out  of  sight  of  land. 

Touching  the  features  of  the  country  through  which  it  passes,  from  its 
source  to  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  it  moves  alternately  through  wild  rice 
lakes  and  swamps,  by  lime  stone  bluffs  and  craggy  hills;  occasionally 
tlirough  deep  pine  forests,  and  beautiful  prairies ;  and  the  tenants  on  its 
borders  are  elk,  buffalos,  bears  and  deer,  and  the  savages  that  pursue 
them.  In  this  distance,  there  is  not  a  civilized  inhabitant  on  its  shores^ 
if  we  except  the  establishments  of  Indian  traders,  and  a  garrison  of  the 
United  States.  Buffalos  are  seldom  seen  below  these  falls.  Its  alluvi- 
ons become  wide,  fertile,  and  for  the  most  part,  heavily  timbered. 
Like  the  Ohio,  its  bottoms  and  bluffs  generally  alternate.  Its  broad  and 
placid  current  is  often  embarrassed  with  islands,  which  are  generally  rich 
alluvial  lands,  often  containing  from  five  hundred  to  a  thousand  acres, 
and  abounding  with  wild  turkies  and  other  small  game.  For  one  hun- 
dred miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  it  would  be  difliicult  for 
us  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  beauty  of  the  prairies,  skirting  this  noble 
river.  They  impress  the  eye,  as  a  perfect  level;  and  are  in  summer  cov- 
ered with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass  and  flowers,  without  a  tree  or  a 
bush.  We  have  made  our  way  through  them  with  difficulty  on  horseback 
through  grass  and  flowers,  as  high  as  our  head.  At  other  times,  we 
traversed  hundreds  of  acres  of  a  clean,  short  grass,  of  the  character  and 
appearance  of  the  handsomest  meadows,  intended  for  the  scythe.  When 
this  deep  prairie  skirts  the  river  on  one  side,  a  heavy  timbered  bottom 
bounds  it  on  the  other.  Generally  from  the  slightest  elevation  on  either 
side,  the  sweep  of  the  bluffs,  corresponding  to  the  curves  of  the  river,  are 
seen  in  the  distance,  mixing  with  the  blue  of  the  sky. 


sippi,  I 
aspect ( 
low  the 
in  widtl 
that  wic 
fifths  of 
of  cyprci 
cane  brai 
direction 
except  i 
swelling 
penline,  i 
Betwe( 
river,  tlie 
two  miles 
stone;  SO] 
Mr.  Jeffeil 
and  towei 
these  j)er 
cliffs  abov 
tired  feet 
cles  of  t 
distance 

We  maj 
singular  i 
tower  at 

On  tJje  e 

distance  fn 

vial  belt, 

sniootJi  pra 

for  the  un( 

helween  tJii 

as  the  bluffs 

a  distance 

same  traces 

rising  and  fj 


RIVERS. 


05 


h 


36  or  a 
^rseback 
(les,  we 
tter  and 
When 
bottom 
kn  either 
liver,  are 


Above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  to  the  rapids  oflXjg  moincs,  iImj 
medial  width  of  ihc  bottom  valley,  in  which  tlie  river  rolls,  measured 
from  blulT  to  bluff,  is  not  far  from  six  miles.  Below  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  to  that  of  the  Ohio,  it  is  not  far  from  ei<,'ht  miles.  The  last 
stone  bluffs  of  the  Mississippi  are  seen,  in  descending  about  thirty  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Below  these,  commences  on  the  Missis- 
sippi, as  is  seen  on  the  Ohio  for  some  distance  above  its  mouth,  the 
aspect  of  a  timbered  bottom  on  cither  side,  boundless  to  the  vision.  Be- 
low the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  the  alluvion  broadens  from  thirty  to  fifty  miles 
in  width ;  still  expanding  to  the  Balize,  where  it  is,  probably,  three  times 
that  width.  We  express  these  widths  in  terms  of  doubt,  because  three 
fifths  of  the  alluvion,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  is  either  dead  swamp 
of  cypress  forest,  or  stagnant  lakes,  or  creeping  bayous,  or  impenetrable 
cane  brakes,  great  part  of  it  inundated;  perhaps  traversed  in  a  straight 
direction  from  bluff  to  bluff,  scarcely  once  in  a  year,  and  never  explored 
except  in  cases  of  urgent  necessity.  The  bluffs,  too,  are  winding, 
swelling  in  one  direction,  and  indented  in  anotiier,  and  at  least  as  ser- 
pentine, as  the  course  of  the  river. 

Between  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  and  St.  Louis,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  the  bluffs  are  generally  near  it,  seldom  diverging  from  it  more  than 
two  miles.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  perpendicular  masses  of  lime 
stone ;  sometimes  shooting  up  into  towers  and  pinnacles,  presenting  as 
Mr.  Jefferson  well  observed,  at  a  distance,  the  aspect  of  the  battlements 
and  towers  of  an  ancient  city.  Sometimes  the  river  sweeps  the  bases  of 
these  jjerpendicular  bluffs,  as  happens  at  the  Cornice  rocks  and  at  the 
cliffs  above  St.  Genevieve.  They  rise  here,  between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  level  of  the  river.  There  are  many  imposing  specta- 
cles of  this  sort,  near  the  western  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  in  this 
distance. 

We  may  mention  among  them  that  gigantic  mass  of  rocks  forming  a 
singular  island  in  the  river,  called  tlic' Grand  Tower;'  and  the  shot 
tower  at  Ilerculaneum. 

On  the  eastern  side  in  this  distance,  the  bluffs  diverge  to  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  river,  and  bound  the  American  bottom,  leaving  an  allu- 
vial belt,  divided  into  nearly  equal  divisions  of  timbered  lands,  and 
smooth  prairies.  This  belt  has  a  medial  width  of  six  miles,  and  is  noted 
for  the  uncommon  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  bluffs  mark  the  boundary 
between  this  belt  and  the  hills.  They  are  as  high  and  as  perpendicular 
as  the  bluffs  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river;  and,  although  generally  at 
a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles  from  its  present  channel,  they  bear  the 
same  traces  of  attrition  by  the  waters,  the  same  stripes,  marking  the 
rising  and  falling  of  the  river,  which  are  seen  on  the  opposite  side.  These 


rt- 


«' 


00 


MlSfilSSlPPI    VAI.I.F.Y. 


poem  to  be  impressive  iiHlic.'ilions,  lliat  tlie  Mississippi  onc<;  s\v«'j)t  llioir 
bases. 

(>pposit(>  llio  moiilli  of  llie  Missouri,  llie  Anioricnii  boflom  lerminales, 
ntnl  the  bliill's  i'ome  ill  lo  tlic  river.  The  Miiirs'lioiuid  llu;  e:isf«'rii  bunk 
of  llie  river  llieiK(^  lo  llie  iiioiilh  of  llu;  Illinois.  l''roiii  these  liliiU's  we 
cunhMiipliile  one  of  the  most  iiii|iressiv(!  and  heiiiitilnl  l;iiHlsca|H's  in  tlio 
Worltl.  On  the  opposite  side;  the  ini^rhty  Missouri  is  seen,  brinjfinj,'  its 
turbid  antl  sweejiiii",'  mnss  of  \val<'rs  at  rinhl  angles  lo  llie  Mississippi. 
The  eye  traees  a  loiiij  distance  of  the  outline  of  the  Missouri  valley, 
bounded  on  either  side  with  an  iiidistinel  and  hlii(>  line  of  hills.  Above 
It  is  the  vast  and  most  beautiful  Manielle  prairii',  (lolled  with  <,'reeii 
islands  of  wood,  and  skirted  at  the  ftirlhcst  ken  of  the  eye  with  hills  and 
forests.  Above  you,  on  the  same  shore,  is  iIk;  valley  of  llu;  Illinois,  itself 
bounded  by  hoary  nnd  ma<«;nilleent  blulls  of  a  peeiiliar  eharaeler.  The 
river  brin<;s  in  its  ereepinir  waters  by  a  deep  bed,  that  sreins  almost  as 
strai{.'lit  as  a  canal.  You  have  in  vi«'w  the  valleys  and  blulls  of  two  noble 
streams,  that  join  tlieir  waters  to  llu^Mississippi.  You  se(Hhe  Missis- 
sippi ehaiifjed  to  a  turbid  and  sweejiin*.'  stream,  with  jay^'ed  and  indent- 
ed banks,  below  you.  y«)U  see  its  ctdiii  and  placid  waters  above  the 
Missouri.  On  the  opposite  jmiirie,  there  ar(!  level  iiu^ulows,  wheat  lields, 
corn  fields,  smokes  asceiidinif  from  houses  and  ciibins,  vast  (locks  of  domes- 
tic cattle, — distinct  indications  of  ayriculltire  aiul  improvement  blended 
Tiitli  the  ^rand  features  of  nature.  Tliere  an-  iliimps  of  tre(>s,  lakes,  ponds, 
and  flocks  of  sea  fowl,  wheeliiiif  their  lliiilit  over  them;  in  sliorl,  whatever 
of  grandeur,  or  beauty,  nature  can  furnish  IosooIIk*,  audio  enrapture  the 
beholder. 

From  the  mouth  of  tbe  Ohio,  the  scene  shifts,  and  the  blulls  arc  fionc- 
Vally  nearest  tlic  eastxjrn  shore;  thon;i;li  on  that  shore  there  are  often 
twenty  miles  between  them  and  the  river.  'I'liey  come  (|uile  in  lo  tlic 
river,  which  washes  their  bases,  at  the  Iron  banks,  the  Chalk  banks,  tlio 
first,  second  and  third  Chickasaw  blulVs,  Memiihis,  the  Walnut  hills, 
Grand  and  Petit  ^uilf,  Natche/,  lioflus''  heights,  St.  Franeisville  ami 
Baton  Uoucfo.  In  all  this  distance,  blufls  are  only  seen  in  one  place  on 
the  west  bank — the  St.  Francis  hills. 

From  the  sources  of  llu;  river  lo  the  moiilli  of  the  Missouri,  the  annual 
flood  ordinarily  commences  in  Marcli,  and  does  not  subside  until  the 
last  of  ]\[ay;  and  its  medial  hei<,'lit  is  tifleen  feet.  At  the  lowest  stages, 
four  feet  of  water  may  bt'  found  from  the  rapi<ls  of  l)es  Moines  to  tlie 
mouth  of  the  Missouri.  Between  that  point  and  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio, 
there  arc  six  feet  in  the  chaimel  of  the  shallowest  places  at  low  water. 
and  the  annual  inundation  may  be  estimated  at  twenty-five  feet.  Between 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  and  the  St.  Francis,  there  are  various  shoal  places, 


UIVI^KS, 


97 


Nvhoic  |.ilots  art:  oflcii  pcrphxcMl  to  find  a  sullicicjiit  (k-ptli  of  water,  when 
lli(<  river  is  low.  TMow  tli;it  jioinf,  \\\vto  is  no  <lilliciilly  for  voast-ld  of 
;uiy  <lr;iii;,'lif,  except  to  liiul  the  ri:,flit  cliniiiifl.  Helow  the  iiioutli  oftlic 
(>hi(>,  the  iiit'<li;il  Hood  is  lifiy  feel;  the  hij'hest,  sixty.  Ahovc;  N';itchrz, 
the  Mood  he^iiis  to  dicliiu'.  At  15  itoii  IJoiiL-e,  it  sehhun  exceeds  thirty 
feet;  and  at,  N(W  ( )rleaiis,  twelve. — Some  have  supposed  this  <,n:uhial 
(liiMiiiiilioii  of  th((  (lood  to  result  IVoiii  tho  draiiiin^r  of  th«!  numerous 
edhiM's  of  the  river,  thai  eoiivey  aw.ay  such  eoiisiderahh;  portions  of  its 
waters,  hy  separate  channels  to  the  scvi.  To  lliis  shoidd  ho  ad(k'd,  no 
iloidtt,  the  check,  which  the  river  at  this  ilistanro  Ix-ifins  to  feel  from  tho 
i(-;irtion  of  the  .sea,  where  this  niii,dily  mass  of  descending  waters  finds 
its  hneh 

IJelow  the  montli  of  Ohio,    in  tho  season  of  inundation,  to  an  ohserv- 
in;j  spectator  a  very  slrilviiii;  si)ertacU;  is  pres<'nt<;d.     'J'ho  river,  as  will 
elsewhere  h(«  ohserved,  sweeps  alon<,'  in  curves,  or  sections  of  circles,  of 
an  extent  from  six  to  twelv*'  miles,  measured  from  point  to  point.     Tho 
sheei  of  water,  that  is  visii)h!  hetween  the;  forests  on  cither  si<le,  is,  as  wo 
li'.ve  remarked,  not  far  from   the  medial  width  of  a  mile.     On  a  calm 
pprin",' morniuL',  and  under  a  hriifht  sun,  this   sheet  of  water,  to  an  eyo, 
tint  tak('s  in  its  /^'enth;  dcscendin''  declivily,  shines,  like  a  mass  of  bur- 
nished silver.     Its  e(!;j-es  are  distinctly  marked  hy  a  mairnifieent  outline 
of<rotfon  wood  trees,  ;reiierally  of<,Meat  size,  and  at  this  time  of  the  year, 
of  liie  hri^ditest  verdure.     On  the  convex,  or  bar  side  of  the  bend,  there 
is  <,'enerally  a  vi^'orous  fjiowth  of  willows,  or  youn<.j  cotton  wood  trees  of 
such  astonishing,' re«i:idarity    of  appearance,  that  it  always  seems  to  the 
unpractised   spcjctatoi,  a  work  of  art.     The  water  stands  among  tlicsc 
trees,  fntni  ten  to  fifleen  feet  in  heii^dit.     Those  brilliant  birds,  the  black 
and  red  bird  of  this  country,  seem  to  deli;rht  to  flit  among  these  young 
jrroves,  that  are  inundated  to  lialf  their  height.      Nature  is  carrying  on 
licr  most  vigorous  elfoits  of  vegetation  below.     If  there  be  wind  or  storm, 
till!   descending  llat  an<l  keel  boats  immediately  make  for  these  groves, 
;\nd  plunge  fearlessly,  with  all  the  headway  they  can  command,  among 
the  trees.     Should  they  be  of  half  the  si/e  of  tho  Inmian  body,  struck 
fifteen  feet  from  the  ground,  they  readily  bend  before  even  a  frail  boat. — 
YdU   descend  the  whole  distance  of  a  thousand  miles  to  New  Orleans, 
landing  at  night  in  fifteen  feet  water  among  the  trees;  but,  probably,  in  no 
instance  within  twejity  miles  of  the  real  shore,  which  is  a  bluff.     The 
whole  si)ectacle  is  that  of  a  vast  and  magnificent  forest,  emerging  from  a 
lake,  with  its  waters,  indeed  in  ;i  thousand  places  in  dcscemling  motion. 
The  experienced  savage,  or  st)litary  voyager,  paddles  his  canoe  through 
llie  deep  forests,  from  one  bhdVto  the  other,     lie  finds  bayous,  by  which 
fine  river  communicates  with    tho  other.     Tie  moves,    perhaps,  along 

13 


^sfe 


08 


iMl.SBli>SlPl>I    VALLLV. 


Uic  Mississippi  forcsl  into  tlu;  mouth  of  White  livtM'.  lie  nsccnds  Ihnf 
river  a  few  miles,  and  hy  iho  (iiaiid  Cut  oil'  m()\(S  down  ihc  forest  into 
the  Arkansas.  From  that  river  lie  finds  many  hayons,  which  communi- 
cate readily  with  Washita  an<l  lied  river;  and  from  that  river,  by  some 
one  of  its  hundred  bayous,  he  finds  his  way  into  the  Atchafalaya  and  the 
Tcche;  and  by  that  stream  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  reachinj;  it  more  than 
twenty  leagues  west  of  (he  Mississipiii.  At  that  time,  this  is  a  river 
from  thirty  to  an  hundred  miles  wide,  all  overshadowed  with  forests,  ex- 
cept an  interior  strip  of  little  more  than  a  mile  in  width,  where  tlie  eye 
reposes  on  the  open  expanse  of  waters,  visible  Ixtween  the  trees. 

Each  of  tiie  hundre<l  rivers,  that  swell  the  Mississippi,  at  the  time  of 
high  waters,  is  more  or  less  turbid.     The  upjx'r  Mississippi  is  the  mos| 
transparent  of  all  of  them  in  low  water.     Hut,  during  its  floods,  it  brings 
down  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  dark,  slimy  mud,  suspended  in  its 
waters.     The  mud  of  the  Missouri  is  as  copious,  as  the  water  can  hold  in 
suspension, — and  is  whitish  in  color,  much  resembling  water,  in  which 
fresh  ashes  have  been  mixed.     The  river  below  Ihc  Missouri  assumes  the 
color  of  that  river.     The  Ohio  brings  in  a  flood,  compared  with  the  other, 
of  a  greenish  color.     The  mixing  of  the  waters  of  the  upper  Mississippi 
with  the  Missouri,  and  afterwards  of  the  united  stream  with  tlie  Ohio, 
affords  an  amusing  sjxjctacle.     TJic  water  of  the  Ohio  is  not  much 
charged  with  earth,  even  at  its  inundation ;  but  is  still  perceptibly  turbid. 
The  St.  Francis  and  WJiite  rivers  at  their  floods,  are  not  much  stained. 
The  Arkansas,  when  high,  is  as  turbid,  and  holds  nearly  as  much  mud  in 
suspension,  as  the  Missouri;  and  its  waters  have  a  bright  reddish  color, 
almost  that  of  flame.     Its  Indian  name,  Ozark,  implies  Yellow  river. 
Red  river  brings  in  a  turbid  mixture  of  the  same  tliickness,  but  of  a 
darker  red.    After  it  has  received  these  two  rivers,  the  Mississippi  loses 
something  of  its  whiteness.     The  hills  far  up  the  Missouri,  Arkansas  and 
Red  rivers  are  washing  down.     Pillars  on  their  sides,  of  gigantic  dimen- 
sions, bright  colors,  and  regular  forms,  where  they  have  been  composed 
of  an  indurated  earth,  or  clay,  that  more  strongly  resisted  tlie  action  of 
rains  and  descending  waters,  are  left  standing.    We  have  seen  and  ad- 
mired tliese  mementos  of  the  lapse  of  time,  the  changes,  that  our  earth  is 
undergoing,  the  washing  of  waters,  and  the  influence  of  the  elements. 
Lewis  and  Clark  speak  of  these  remains  of  dilapidated  liills  far  up  the 
Missouri,  where  they  appeared  in  their  grandest  dimensions. 

The  Mississippi,  then,  may  be  considered,  as  constantly  bearing  be- 
neath its  waters  a  tribute  of  the  finest  and  most  fertile  vegetable  soil, 
collected  from  an  hundred  shores,  hills  and  mountains,  and  transported 
from  distances  of  a  thousand  leagues.  The  marl  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tain, the  clay  of  the  Black  mountains,  the  earth  of  the  Alleghanies,  th© 
red  loam,  washed  from  the  hills  at  the  sources  of  the  Arkansas  and 


Redr 

Miaaii 
doubt, 
mouth 
broadc 
been  n 
CJiickn 
washes 
rirer  ar 
itcs  of  ( 
eupj)os€ 
incii  in 
As  so 
being  cc 
trees  anc 
which  vv( 
dcscendi 
portion  o 
of  tJie  riv 
soil  cont 
clayey,  as 
the  farthe 
subsides, 
ing  a  feel 
eddies,  aii 
the  banks] 
near  the  ri 
strata  of  i 
But  the  nj 
and  Jast  ol 
held  susp€ 
TJiis  or< 
pertaining 
now,  ordii 
first  view 
directly  on| 
blufls. 
and  New 
strip  of lanj 
iand  slopes 
twenty  fcc<| 
'iduced  a 


1^ 


%^..,  i 


HI V ens 


99 


Red  rivers,  nre  every  year  dc|)ositod  in  layers  ulong  llie  alluvion  of  Uie 
Mistiissippi;  or  iiro  \vaMlie<l  iiilo  tlio  j;,niir  of  Mexico.  Wo  can  have  little 
doubt,  tliat  this  river  once  found  its  estu.iry  not  far  below  the  present 
mouth  of  the  Ohio.  It  wan,  pr(»l)ably,  then  thirty  miles  wide,  and  grew 
broader  (|uitc  to  the  gidf. — The  alluvial  country  below,  must  then  have 
been  nn  arm  of  the  sea.  The  tlill'erent  blulTs  on  its  eastern  shore,  the 
Chickasaw  bluil's,  Natchez,  and  the  other  hills,  whoso  bases  the  river  now 
washes,  were  capes,  tliat  projected  into  this  estuary.  The  banks  of  tlic 
rirer  are  evidently  gaining  in  height  above  the  inundation.  The  depos- 
itcs  of  earth,  sand  and  slinic  are  not  as  equal  in  their  layers,  as  wo  might 
suppose;  but  might,  perhaps,  bo  assumed,  as  depositing  a  twelfth  of  an 
inch  in  the  annual  inundation. 

As  soon  as  tlie  descending  mass  of  waters  has  swept  over  the  banks, 
being  comparatively  destitute  of  current,  and  impeded,  moreover,  by 
trees  and  bushes,  it  begins  to  depositc  a  sediment  of  that  mud  and  sand, 
which  were  only  held  in  suspension  by  the  rapidity  and  agitation  of  the 
descending  current.  It  must  be  obvious,  that  the  sand  and  the  coarser 
portion  of  the  mixture  of  earth  will  subside  first;  and  that  near  the  banks 
of  tlie  river  will  be  the  most  copious  deposition.  We  find,  in  fact,  the 
soil  contiguous  to  the  rivers  most  sandy.  It  becomes  finer  and  more 
clayey,  as  we  recede  farther  from  the  bank,  until  near  the  bluffs;  and  at 
the  farthest  distances  from  the  river,  the  impalpable  mixture  gradually 
subsides,  foraiing  a  very  stiff,  black  soil,  called  '  tcrrc  graisse^  and  hav- 
ing a  feeling,  when  wet,  like  lard  or  grease.  Circumstances,  such  as 
eddies,  and  other  impediments,  resulting  from  the  constant  changes  of 
the  banks,  may  cause  this  earth  in  particular  positions,  to  be  deposited 
near  the  river.  Where  the  banks  have  fallen  in,  and  discovered  the  under 
strata  of  the  soil,  we  often  see  layers  of  this  earth  direc  My  on  the  shore. 
But  the  natural  order  of  deposition  is,  first,  the  sand;  nv  xt,  the  marl; 
and  last  of  all,  this  impalpable  clay,  which  would  of  course  be  longest 
held  suspended. 

Tliis  order  of  deposition  accounts,  too,  for  another  circumstance  ap- 
pertaining to  the  banks  of  this  river,  and  all  its  lower  tributaries,  that  do 
now,  or  did  formerly,  overflow  their  banks.  It  always  creates  surprise  at 
first  view  to  remark,  that  all  these  rivers  have  alluvions,  that  are  highest 
directly  on  the  banks,  and  slope  back  like  a  natural  glacis,  towards  the 
bluffs.  There  are  a  thousand  points,  between  the  mouth  of  Ohio 
and  New  Orleans,  where,  at  the  highest  inundation,  there  is  a  narrow 
strip  of  land  above  the  overflow;  and  it  is  directly  on  the  bank.  But  the 
land  slopes  back,  and  subsides  under  the  overflow;  and  is,  perhaps, 
twenty  feet  under  water  at  the  blulls.  This  deceptive  appearance  has 
induced  a  common  opinion,  that  this  river,  its  tributaries  and  bayous,  in 


100 


WlifS^'SII'PI    VAI.IXV. 


li^ 


I 


tlieir  lower  cour?<o«<,  run  llirouuli  llirir  vjillrvH  on  nn  clovatcd  r'u]j>o,  nn»l 
occupy  llic  highosl  part  <ifflitir  I»f>tloin.«.  'I'lu' ^.Ti-alcr  <»>iii(»:ir:iliv(!  ele- 
vation on  llio  banks  nol\\itlisl:iii(liM;,',  v.t!  Iiavi-  nol  the  ^lii^liUvt  douhf, 
lliat  tlio  path  of  iho  rivers  is,  in  I'arf,  llie  deejicst  pari  of  llieir  I)a?in,  and 
that  the  heil  of*  the  river  is  unil'ovmly  lower,  iJian  the  lf>\vest  point  of  the 
alluvion  nt  the  base  of  the  Miillk 

One  of  the  most  striking:  peculiarities  of  this  river,  nnd  of  all  its  lower 
tributaries,  has  not  often  be(;n  a  tiieme  of  observation,  in  describin*,'  it. 
It  is  the  uniformity  of  its  meand(Ms,  called  in  the  phrase  of  the  country, 
'points and  bends.'  In  many  instances  these  ciu'ves  are  (h^srribed  with 
a  precision,  with  wliich  they  would  hav('  been  marked  oil'  by  tlu;  sweep 
ofa  compass.  The  river  sweeps  round,  perhaps,  tliehalfofa  circle,  and 
is  precipitated  from  the  point,  in  a  current  <iia«;onally  across  its  own 
channel,  to  another  curve  of  the  sauio  refrularity  upon  the  opposite  shore. 
In  the  bend  is  the  deepest  channel,  the  heaviest  movement  of  waters, 
and  what  is  called  the  thread  of  the  current.  Between  this  thread 
and  the  shore,  there  are  j,'ener;;lly  counter  currents,  or  edilies;  and 
in  the  crumbling  and  tender  alluvial  soil,  the  river  is  generally  making 
inroads  upon  its  banks  on  the  bend  side.  Opposite  the  bend  there 
is  always  a  sandbar,  matched  in  the  convexity  of  its  conformation,  to  the 
concavity  of  the  bend.  Here  it  is,  that  the  appearance  of  the  young 
cotton  wood  groves  have  their  most  striking  aspect.  The  trees  rise 
from  the  shore,  showing  fir.sl  the  vigorous  saplings  of  the  present  year; 
and  then  thoseof  adateof  twoand  three  years;  and  trees  rising  in  regular 
gradation  to  the  most  ancient  and  lofty  point  of  the  forest.  These 
curves  are  so  regular  on  this,  and  all  the  rivers  of  the  lower  country, 
that  the  boatmen  and  Indians  calculate  distances  by  them ;  and  instead 
of  the  number  of  miles  or  leagues,  they  estimate  their  progress  by 
the  number  of  bends,  they  have  passctl. 

We  have  had  occasion  to  remark  this  conformation,  even  on  the  upper 
courses  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri;  and  that,  too,  where  the  curve 
seemed  to  have  been  scooped  out  of  solid  blulls,  of  lime  stone.  These 
sinuosities  are  distinguished  on  the  lower  course  of  the  Ohio,  on  the  St. 
Francis  and  White  rivers,  and  they  are  remarkable  for  their  regularity 
on  the  Arkansas.  The  curves  on  Red  river  are  regular,  but  they  arc 
sections  of  circles  comparatively  small;  and  (he  river  is  so  extremely 
crooked  from  them,  that  its  course  is  generally  obstructed  from  view  in 
a  length  of  two  or  three  miles.  All  the  bayous  and  effluxes  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  of  these  rivers,  show  the  same  conformation  in  their 
courses.  A  crcole  of  the  lower  country  would  scarcely  imagine,  that  a 
river  could  move  on  in  any  other  line,  than  in  curves,  described  first  upon 
one  bank,  and  then  upon  tho  other. 


^ 


M. 


iiivrus. 


m 


j 


Tlirrc  must  bo,  Ixyond  doiiltl,  a  m'rionl  law  for  tliifl  iiniforrnify  of 
fonrorrniilitMi;  and   \vc   Ikivo   licnrd   v.irioiH  dctiutnstrMtions,  that   wcro 
iiik'ii(I<'d  to  cxiiliiiii  it,  and   tit  sliow,  tlml  a  iiiMvini.'  tii.iss  of  watiTs,  oti 
the  principal  of  siuli  a  moving  loicc,  oM;j-|it.  to  sweep  a  cnrvi^  in  oiio 
direction,  Im;  |>ropelled   iVoni  tlio  [toint  of  that  cnrve,  and  then  Hwe«'p  u 
tsiniiliir  oni*  on  the  opposite  shon;.     Tlu'se  demonstrations  litivt;  appcaretl 
unsatisfactory  to  ns.     It  lias  always  seonu'd  to  ns,  that  in  a  tender  and 
alluvial  soil,  i>nd  nndcr  similar  circnmstancos,  a  m(»vinjf  mass  of  water, 
cnttin*,'  a  course  for  itself,  would  lake  the  direction  of  a  ri;,dit  line.   Tho 
connnon  solution  cr>rtaiidy  is  not  the  just  one,  that  is  tu  say,  tiiat  tho 
river  fnuls  an  ohstacle,  which  (iives  it  a  dia<ional  direction  ia  the  first 
instance;  aiul  that  this  law,  once  estahlishcMl,  continues  to  act  with  uni- 
formity, in  producing'  this  alternation  of  curves.     The  courses  of  nil  the 
western  rivers,  in  creatintj  points  ami  bends,  arc  far  too  uniform,  to  be 
produced  by  nn  accidental  cause.     It  appears  clear  to  us,  that  the  devia- 
tions from  this  rule  arc  owinj,'  to  nccidenlal  causes;  but  they  are  so 
unfre(]uent,  that  for  the  first  three  hinidred  miles  on  the  Arkansas,  we  do 
not  remember  one;  and  there  arc  not  more  than  three  or  four  '  reaches,' 
as  they  arc  called,  or  deviations  from  this  rule,  in  the  Mississippi,  where 
the  river  for  a  considerable  distance  preserves  a  strait  course,  between 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Balizc. 

It  follows  from  this  «lisposilion  of  the  river,  to  take  its  direction  in 
deep  curves,  and  continually  to  wear  them  deeper,  that,  returning,  as  it 
were,  on  its  track,  it  will  often  brin<,'  its  points  near  to  each  other.  It 
occurs  more  than  once,  that  in  uiovin<r  round  a  curve  of  twenty-five  or 
thuty  miles,  you  will  return  so  near  the  point,  whence  you  started,  that 
you  can  return  back  to  that  point  in  less  than  a  mile.  There  arc  at  present 
bends  of  this  sort  on  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi,  particularly  at 
Tunica  bend,  where  you  move  round  a  curve  of  thirty  miles,  and  come 
back  to  the  point,  where  you  sec  through  the  trees,  and  at  the  distance 
of  three  (piartcrs  of  a  mile,  the  point,  whence  you  departed.  It  might 
bo  inferred,  that  it  would  so  happen,  when  the  waters  on  the  upper  point 
of  the  bend  approach  so  near  those  on  the  lower  jwiut,  that  in  high  waters 
a  crevasse  would  be  made  across  the  point,  or  the  simple  weight  of  the 
descending  current  would  burst  itself  a  passage  through.  In  this  case, 
the  river  soon  finds  its  main  channel  from  point  to  point;  an  island  is 
formed;  and  the  river  rushes  through  what  is  called  the  ' cut  oft",' with 
great  velocity  and  power.  Such  is  the 'Grand  cut  oft^' that  has  been 
formed  since  we  first  descended  the  river.  We  now  pass  from  one  point 
to  another,  in  half  a  mile,  to  a  distance,  which  it  formerly  required 
twenty  miles  to  reach.  The  'cut  oil"'  at  Faussc  riviere,  Yazoo,  Homo- 
chitto  and  Point  Coupee  bends  are  of  this  sort.     Tunica,  no  doubt,  will 


•.^ie> 


'^, 


108 


Mlf>SIH<<IPPI    VALf.UY. 


aoon  be  of  Uio  nunihcr;  anil  many  other  bciuls.  Wherever  the  treeti  arc 
cleared  nwny  from  the  Ixinks  hy  cultivation,  the  tioil  bccomct)  of  couryo 
more  tender  nnd  yiehhn^,  nnd  iseuHier  perforatrd  hy  the  mnss  of  moving 
waters.  Nature  is  tiiii8  Hhortcniii^'  tho  coiiiho  of  tiiis  hm^  river.  In 
process  of  time,  tlie  eilbrta  of  industry  will  yield  their  aid  to  the  same 
result. 

When  these  chanpfcs  take  place,  the  mouth  of  thn  ancient  course  of  the 
river  becomes  choke*!;  and  lon^  lakes  are  formed  called  '•fauitHva  rivicrct^ 
which,  at  the  ^eascmof  high  water  migiit  easily  be  mistaken  for  the  river 
itself,  were  they  not  without  current,  and  did  they  not  soon  cover  them- 
selves with  those  aquatic  plants,  that  in  these  climates  are  always  found 
on  still  waters.  There  arc  an  infinite  number  of  such  bayous  found  on  the 
lower  courses  of  the  Mississippi,  Arkansas,  ami  more  than  all,  Red  river, 
where  tliey  form  such  an  inextricable  net  w(»rk,  that  in  high  waters  it 
requires  an  experienced  pilot  to  determine,  which  is  the  river,  and  which 
is  the  bayou. 

The  thread  of  the  main  current  is,  as  we  have  remarked,  always  near 
the  bank  of  the  bend;  and  the  chief  undermining  of  the  banks  is  ordina- 
rily there.  As  soon  as  the  floods  of  the  river  begin  to  subside,  and  the 
waters  to  sink  within  the  banks,  the  main  thread  of  the  current,  which 
had  been  diminished  in  its  action  on  the  bank,  by  the  dillusion  of  its 
waters  over  the  bank,  as  soon  as  they  return  within  the  channel,  acts  with 
augmented  force,  and  by  a  more  uniform  action  from  the  surface  to  the 
bottom  upon  the  banks,  softened  and  diluted  by  the  recent  overflow. — 
Hence,  immediately  upon  the  subsiding  of  the  river  within  its  banks,  is 
ihe  time,  when  they  are  most  apt  to  fall  in.  Then  is  the  time,  that  we  hear 
by  night  the  deep  crash  of  the  trees,  falling,  and  sinking  in  the  flood. 
Then  it  is,  that  the  land-slips  carry  in  acres  at  a  time;  and  it  is  then, 
that  the  narrow  passages  between  islands  become  choked  with  trees, 
carried  along  by  the  current. 

With  one  remark  more,  we  shall  close  this  outline  of  the  Mississippi ; 
which,  minute  as  it  may  have  seemed,  is  but  a  brief  sketch  of  the  char- 
acter and  circumstances  of  a  river,  which,  described  in  deLail,  would 
occupy  a  volume.  It  is  the  most  turbid  river,  and  has  the  widest  alluvial 
bottoms  of  any,  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  We  may  add,  that  it  is 
beyond  all  comparison  the  narrowest  river,  that  we  know,  which  carries 
so  much  water.  In  width  and  show  of  surface,  it  will  hardly  compare 
with  the  St.  Lawrence.  We  have  no  doubt,  that  it  carries  the  greatest  mass 
of  water,  according  to  its  width,  of  any  river  on  the  globe.  From  the 
quantity  of  earth,  which  it  holds  in  suspension  in  its  descending  waters, 
and  which  it  is  continually  depositing  along  its  banks,  it  will  always  be 
confined  within  a  narrow  and  deep  channel.    Were  it  a  clear  stream,  it 


«F< 


/\iioitiuini:s. 


KXI 


would  Roon  proop  ilM.'ir  uiil  ii  <-ii:uiii(>l  from  hliilV  to  hlulT.  In  common 
with  most  of  its  j^'niat  Iriliiilarics,  it  l)roii(I»'ri8  an  it  iiscdndH,  lioinf^,  ns  wo 
haw  n'lnnrkrd,  wider  idiovc  the  mouth  of  llio  MiHsouri,  with  scarce  a 
tenth  of  its  wat<>r,  than  it  in  nt  New  OrlcaiiH.  in  tlio  Hnrnn  manner^ 
Arkniisas  tind  Rt-d  rivrr  aro  wider  a  thousand  miles  from  their  mouth, 
tli:in  they  aro  at  that  point.  Ah  the  western  rivers  approach  their  dchouchCf 
and  increase  their  volume  of  water,  they  narrow,  and  deepen  tlicir 
rliannel. 


T.NniAXs,  on  AnonioiNAL  iMiAnrr.wTs.    Details  of  the  Indians,  that 

itelon^'  to  the  states  and  territories  of  this  valley,  will  naturally  ho  given 

under  the  accounts  of  them. — We  mean  here  to  hriniy,  if  it  may  be,  into 

one  <frou])  peneral  views  and  outlines  of  the  race,  as  we  see  it  in  all  the 

climates  from  the  sotirces  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 

Numerous  and  voluminous  treatises  have  been  written  upon  the  subject. 

We  have  read  these  treatises.     We  have  long  and  attentively  studied  the 

Indian  cluiracter.     We  have  seen  enough  of  that  character,  to  be  aware^ 

IJiat  very  few  writers  have  done  more  than  theorize,  and  declaim  upon  the 

subject.     They  have  seldom  brought  to  it  the  only  true  lights — those  of 

observation  and  experience.     We  ought  to  except  from  this  remark, 

Charlevoix  among  the  early,  and  the  gentlemen  of  Long's  expedition 

among  the  recent  writers  upon  the  Indians.     The  views  of  the  latter,  in 

particular,  are  calm,  philosoi)hical  and  just,  as  far  as  they  go.     They  do 

not  give  us  the  fruit  of  preconceived  prejudices,  or  theorizing  harangues; 

and  we  refer  those,  who  would  take  minute,  interesting,  and  for  the  most 

part,  just  views  of  the  character  and  condition  of  the  western  Indians, 

to  their  narratives. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Indians  of  the  United  States  dwell  in  the  limits 
of  this  valley.  Within  the  bounds  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  Florida,  Mis* 
sissippi  and  Tennessee,  the  southern  Indians  of  this  valley  inhabit. 
These  nations  without  mentioning  their  subdivisions,  are  the  Seminoles, 
the  Baton  Rouges,  the  Creeks,  or  Muskogee,  the  Cherokees,  Chactaw^ 
and  Chickasaws.  The  Creeks  and  Seminoles,  before  the  late  war 
were  powerful  tribes.  Their  population  and  power  received  in  that 
war  a  withering  check.  Many  of  the  Cliacktaws  aro  incorporated  with 
l]ic  Quawpaws  of  Arkansas.  About  a  third  of  the  Cherokee  nation  had 
emigrated  to  the  country  on  the  Arkansas,  between  the  Quawpaws  and 
the  Osages.  Many  of  the  Creeks,  or  Muskogee,  have  emigrated  west  of 
the  Mississippi.  All  tljesc  Indians,  that  remain  east  of  this  river,  have 
adopted  more  or  less  of  cultivation,  and  the  arts  of  civilized  life.  The 
Cherokees  and  Chacktaws,  particularly  the  former,  have  been  most 
successful  in  imitating  the  habits  and  institutions  of  the  whites     They 


'W 


104 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLLY. 


V* 


I 


have  looms,  ploughs,  blacksmiths'  ghops,  slaves,  enclosures,  barns, 
taverns,  brick  dwellings  in  some  instances,  public  roads,  a  cenHiis,  a  code 
of  laws,  civil  divisions,  and  magistrafcs, — Their  laws  have  very  little  of 
that  delay,  of  which  the  whites  coinpluin;  but  are  severe,  energetic,  and 
promptly  administered.  They  have  many  inujiicipal  regulations,  and 
singular  customs;  an  amusing  mixtu  j  of  savage  and  civilized  views, 
which  afford  a  study  of  no  common  interest  to  the  niunerous  travellers 
that  are  obliged  to  pass  through  their  nations,  on  their  way  by  land  from 
New  Orleans  and  the  lower  states  of  tlie  Atlantic  country.  They  have 
numerous  taverns,  at  regular  distances,  not  much  inferior  to  those  in  the 
adjacent  country,  inhabited  oy  the  Americans.  Some  of  their  planters 
have  large  enclosures,  and  fine  stocks  of  cattle  and  horses ;  and  may  be 
considered  rich.  We  saw  a  Cherokee  chief,  who  h;id  a  dozen  slaves,  fine 
teams,  ploughs  and  looms,  two  or  three  wives,  and  twenty-seven  living 
children,  as  he  stated.  His  people  were  dressed,  as  are  most  of  these 
jjeople,  in  plain  cotton  cloths  of  respectable  fabric.  The  cotton,  the 
dyeing  articles,  the  manufacturing,  and  the  whole  fabric,  from  beginning 
to  end,  were  within  themselves.  There  are  a  number  of  respectable 
missionary  establishments  in  their  limits ;  and  they  begin  to  be  deeply 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  education.  Tiiey  have  been  making 
great  eflbrts  to  establish  a  printing  press  in  their  country,  and  it  is  now 
in  operation. 

In  the  northern  parts  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  near  lakes  Erie  and 
Michigan,  is  an  establishment  of  the  Sliawncse, — a  tribe  formerly  so 
powerful,  and  now  hastening  to  decay.  There  was  an  important  mis- 
sionary station  among  them,  which  is  removed  to  Michigan  territory. 
"Ohio,  that  once  contained  such  a  numerous  Indian  population,  is  com- 
puted at  present  to  contain  about  two  thousand,  principally  Shawnese. 
The  Pottawatomies  and  Kickapoos,  in  Indiana  and  Illinois,  are  number- 
■ed,  the  former  at  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  the  latter  at  six  hundred. 
The  Peorias,  Kaskakias  and  Cahokias,  that  figured  so  much  in  the  early 
French  history  of  this  country,  are  hearly  extinct.  Tlie  Wyandots,  Chip- 
peways  and  VVinnebagos  hunt  farther  to'thc  northwest,  and  extend  tlieir 
range  to  Lake  Sujxjrior.  The  Chippeways  may  be  considered  a  patriar- 
chal nation,  of  which  many  of  the  jiorthern  tribes  are  branches,  and  of 
whose  language  they  speak  dialects.  There  are  other  tribes  so  nearly 
extinct,  that  there  are  not  now,  perhaps  six  individuals  to  maintain 
the  name.  ,,    .,^;^ 

In  ascending  the  Mississippi  from  St.  Louis,  we  meet  first  with  the 
Sacks,  or  as  tlicy  call  themselves,  Saukics,  and  Foxes,  or  Reynards. 
They  inhabit  the  country  auovc  and  below  Rock  river,  and  claim  the 
territory  of  the  lead  mines.     The  laways  reside  farther  up  the  river,  and 


F 


ABORIGINES. 


106 


[Eric  and 
inerly  so 
tant  mis- 
territovy. 
is  com- 
lawnesc. 
niimbcr- 
lundred. 
the  early 
♦s,  CI  lip- 
tend  their 
I  patriar- 
^,  and  of 
so  nearly 
maintain 


near  the  Des  Moines.  The  Winnebagos,  or  Puants,  inhabit  from  the 
Oiiisconsin  to  (Jrcen  bay  on  lake  Michigan. — Tliey  have  the  reputation 
of  being  particidarly  false  and  treacherous.  The  Menomene,  or  Follcs 
aroins,  inhabit  tiie  Menomene  to  hike  Mic]ii;^an. 

Still  higher  on  the  Mississippi,  end  thonce  to  the  lakes,  and  thence  to 
tlio  country  on  the  INIi-souri,  and  far  up  and  down  that  river,  wander  tlie 
Sioux,  or  Dacotas.  Tjjoy  are  divided  into  six  or  seven  tribes,  with  distinct 
names,  given,  as  the  French  often  fix  ajipellations,  from  some  poetical 
associations  with  natural  objects.  For  instance,  one  of  the  most  numer- 
ous tribes,  inhabiting  a  region  of  forests,  is  called  Was-pa-tong,  Gensdcs 
fcuillcs.  or  the  people  of  leaves.  Each  of  these  tribes  has  its  distinct 
badge,  coat  of  arms,  or  what  is  called  '  totvm''  among  them.  They  occupy 
a  vast  range,  are  a  very  numerous  people,  and,  like  the  Chippeways,  the 
parent  of  various  tribes,  who.se  langutige,  though  radically  the  same  with 
theirs,  has  in  process  of  time  receded  so  far  from  it,  that  the  different 
tribes  require  an  interpreter  to  converse  together.  The  Dacotas  are  the 
Arabs  of  the  West. 

Surveying  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  commencing  the 
survey  below  St.  Louis,  between  that  town  and  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio, 
there  used  to  be  a  num])or  of  villages  of  Delawares  and  Shawnees;  and 
with  them  were  mixed  a  considerable  number  of  rcnogadoes  from  the 
Creeks,  and  the  Indians  of  the  lower  Mississippi.  There  were  in  all, 
three  or  four  hundred  souls.  They  left  the  country,  by  an  arrangement 
with  the  government.  They  have  allied  themselves  with  the  Cherokees 
of  the  Arkansas, 

In  ascending  the  Missouri,  we  first  meet  with  the  Osages,  a  powerful 
tribe  who  inhabit  principally  on  the  Osage  river,  and  who  spread  them- 
selves across  the  country  to  the  Arkansas,  and  even  to  Red  river. 
Ascending  the  Missouri,  we  fiiid,  as  wo  advance,  Ottoes,  Missouries, 
laways,  Kanzas,  and  Pawnees,  divided  into  three  bands — Grand  Pawnees, 
Pawnee  Republicans,  and  Pawnea  Lotips.  After  the  Dacotas,  or  Sioux, 
they  are,  probably,  the  next  most  numerous  people  in  this  region.  Still 
farther  up,  there  are  the  Mandans,  Piincahs,  Omawhaws,  Padoucas,  La 
Plais,  or  Bald  heads,  and  the  Tclons.  Still  farther  up,  there  are  the 
Minnitarecs,  or  Gros  rcufrct,  the  Arrapahoc,  the  Crow,  the  Arricaree, 
the  Snake,  and  the  Black  foot  Indians.  Some  of  these  tribes  inhabit, 
and  hunt  occasionally  on  both  sides  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

On  the  Arkansas,  the  first  tribe  on  its  lower  course  is  that  of  the 
Quawpaws  with  whom  are  incorporated  many  Chactaws.  Still  higher, 
we  meet  with  the  Osages.  The  Cherokees,  who  have  migrated  to  this 
river,  seem  to  be  a  point  of  union  for  the  ancient  Shawncse  and  Dela- 
wares.    The  Indians  on  the  Ohio,  of  thes^e  tribcr,  arc  immigrating  fo  this 

14 


* 


■I  ,i 


i'   ■'i 


-m 


106 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


region.  Abovo  them  arc  the  Pawnees  ami  Arrapahocs.  At  the  sourcca 
of  this  river  are  often  seen  bands  of  the  Mexican  Indians,  as  llic  Com- 
manches  and  Appachcs,  who  come  down  from  their  mountains,  to  Iiunt 
the  buftalo  and  the  elk  on  tlic  adjacent  plains. 

From  New  Orleans  to  Attakapas,  and  tlionce  along  Red  river,  arc  the 
remains  of  many  of  the  ancient  tribes  of  Louisiana,  that  will  soon  have 
no  other  memorial,  than  their  names  in  the  French  histories  of  the  country. 
These  are  the  Natchez,  the  Appalachics,  the  Tensas,  Alabamas,  Pasca- 
goulas,  Chetimachcs,  Biloxics,  Tunicas,  &c.  Near  the  Sabine  are  a 
small  number  of  Carancoahs,  clearly  cannibals.  They  are  viewed  with 
horror,  and  pursued  witli  a  spirit  of  extermination,  by  the  adjacent 
India's. 

Higher  on  Red  river  inhabit,  and  hunt  occasionally,  many  of  the  tribes, 
which  we  have  mentioned,  as  having  their  more  permanent  home  on  the 
Arkansas.  The  Cados  are  a  tribe,  that  dwell  chiefly  on  Red  river,  and 
hunt  the  buffalo  on  the  prairies  between  it  and  Arkansas.  We  might 
continue  to  swell  this  catalogue  willi  the  names  of  tribes,  tliat  once 
existed,  but  are  now  extinct;  and  others,  of  which  there  remain,  perhaps, 
a  few  individuals. 

Population.  Any  exact  estimates  of  the  number  of  Indians,  within 
the  limits  of  the  territory  of  the  united  States,  must  necessarily  bo 
wanting.  The  statistical  tables  rate  them  at  one  hundred  and  eighty 
thousand.  We  have  before  us  a  detailed  table  of  the  estimated  numbers 
of  Indians  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  These  tables  give  the  names  of 
sixty  tribes  J  some  of  them  of  barbarous  orthography,  and  sufficiently 
wide  from  the  sounds  of  the  names,  by  which  these  tribes  choose  to  call 
themselves.  The  whole  number  is  estimated  at  one  hundred  and  three 
thousand.  This,  if  we  do  not  include  the  Indians  west  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  of  which  we  have  no  certain  knowledge,  is,  probably,  a  large 
estimate. 

The  gradual  decrease  and  extinction  of  these  tribes,  one  after  the 
Other,  has  been  a  theme  of  copious  and  melancholy  reflection  with 
benevolent  and  flunking  men.  By  an  easy  transition,  they  have  passed 
to  charging  the  cause,  as  a  crime  of  the  darlvcst  die  to  the  whites,  and 
to  our  country.  A  prevalent  fashion  and  theme  of  declamation  have 
their  date,  and  their  period,  in  our  country;  and  for  the  time,  that  they 
are  in  fashion,  pass  unquestioned.  We  have  thought,  the  common,  loose 
and  bitter  charges,  which,  in  contemplating  this  subject,  have  been 
brought  against  our  fathers  and  our  country,  ought  at  least  to  admit  of 
v^  question.  We  have  always  had  individuals  in  our  country,  who  would 
constantly  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity,  to  distribute  among  them 
the  poison  of  ardent  spirits.    But  our  government,  it  must  be  admitted, 


.4 


their  jcn 

otlicr. — ] 

of  tlic  g( 

lie  evil  f 

fu  the 

from  the  ] 

and  tlie  n 

to  bring  i 

and  of  hn 

Jiad  been 

social  liap 

erected  in 

us  practic 

i      Christiani 

and  of  ou 

extinction 

changeab 

that  savaof 

spirit  and 

I     not  altogc 

t     spirits,  or 

J     TJie  ten  t 

1 

I     mensely  n 

tlian  the  j 

wlien  whii 

nothing  e 

once  liad 

corn  fields. 

were,  bcyo 

they  now? 

in  their  tu 

other  groui 


•I 


i\- 


ABORIGINES. 


107 


ourcc3 
5  Com- 
:o  hunt 

are  the 
)n  have 
ountry. 
Pasca- 
3  are  a 
cd  with 
tljacent 

c  tribes, 
J  on  the 
ver,  and 
e  might 
lat  once 
perhaps, 

i,  within 
sarily  be 
id  eighty 
numbers 
names  of 
ihciently 
50  to  call 
nd  three 
Rocky 
a  largo 

after  the 
ion  with 
e  passed 
lites,  and 
ion  have 
that  they 
ion, loose 
ave  been 
admit  of 
ho  would 
long  them 
admitted, 


has  practised  towards  tliem  a  steady  and  dignified  moderation,  and  an 
untiring  forbearance.  Its  provisions,  to  prevent  the  sale  of  whiskey 
among  them,  have  been  severe,  and  in  general  faithfully  carried  into  effect. 
Tlie  strictness  of  our  laws  in  this  respect  is  one  of  the  most  incessant 
themes  of  complaint  on  their  part;  and  the  manner,  in  which  we  with- 
liold  whiskey  from  them,  is  considered  by  them,  as  the  result  of  our 
covetousness.  Our  government  is  exerting  a  constant  effort,  to  hold  the 
tribes  leaslied  in,  and  to  prevent  tliem  from  destroying  one  another.  Had 
it  been  our  policy  to  exteiTniiiate  tlie  race,  as  it  has  been  taxed,  nothing 
more  would  have  been  necessary,  than  to  unkennel  the  savages,  excite 
their  jealousies,  and  stir  up  their  revenge,  and  let  them  destroy  each 
otlicr. — But,  on  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  have  been  the  guiding  maxim 
of  the  governmciif,  to  do  all  practicable  good,  and  to  ward  off  all  possi- 
ble evil  from  this  devoted  and  unhappy  race. 

In  the  ancient  states,  in  tlie  legislative  halls,  on  the  floor  of  congress, 
from  the  pulpit  and  tlie  press,  it  has  been  the  favorite  theme  of  eloquence, 
and  the  readiest  passport  to  cslimation  for  pliilanthrojjy  and  benevolence, 
to  bring  up  the  guilt  of  having  destroyed  the  past  race  of  this  people, 
and  of  having  possessed  ourselves  of  their  lands.  One  would  think,  it 
liad  been  discovered,  that  the  population,  the  improvements,  and  the 
social  happiness  of  our  great  political  edifice,  ought  never  to  have  been 
erected  in  place  of  these  habitations  of  ciuelty.  Let  us  pity  them.  Let 
us  practice  forbearance  to  the  end.  Let  us  send  to  them  instruction, 
Christianity  and  the  arts.  They  are  not  the  less  objects  of  our  pity, 
and  of  our  untiring  benevolence,  because  the  causes  of  their  decay,  and 
extinction  are  found  in  their  own  nature  and  character,  and  the  un- 
changeable order  of  things.  It  is  as  unchangeable,  as  the  laws  of  nature, 
that  savages  should  give  place  to  civilized  men,  possessed  of  the  strength, 
spirit  and  improvement  of  the  social  compact.  We  conceive,  that  it  is 
not  altogether  owing  either  to  the  proximity  of  the  whites,  to  ardent 
spirits,  or  small  pox,  that  the  Indian  tribes  are  constantly  diminishing. — 
The  ten  thousand  mounds  in  this  valley,  the  rude  memorials  of  an  im- 
mensely numerous  former  population,  but  to  our  view  no  more  civilized, 
than  the  present  races,  are  proofs,  that  the  country  was  depopulated, 
when  white  men  first  became  acquainted  with  it.  If  we  can  infer 
nothing  else  from  the  mounds,  we  can  clearly  infer,  that  this  country 
once  had  its  millions.  We  dig  up  their  pottery,  where  we  make  our 
corn  fields.  We  dig  up  their  bones,  when  we  level  these  mounds.  They 
were,  Ijeyond  doubt,  a  very  rude  i)eoi)le,  and  very  laborious.  Where  are 
they  now?  Their  places  arc  occupied  by  a  race,  who  were  depopulating 
in  their  turn,  when  our  forefathers  first  saw  the  country.  We  have  no 
other  grounds,  on  which  to  charge  them  with  the  guilt  of  having  destroyed 


i\  t 


im 


MISSIS<;irPI    VALLKY. 


tl»e  generations,  that  arc  buried  in  these  mounds,  ihnn  the  circumstance, 
that  when  we  first  knew  thcin,  they  were  eiiirn^fod,  as  they  are  now,  in 
constant  and  interminable  wars  with  each  otlicr.  Wlio  of  tficm  owned 
the  land,  that  we  now  inhabit?  The  races,  that  lie  buried  and  forgotten 
on  these  plains;  or  the  tribes,  that  advanced  to-day,  to  dispossess  the 
present  occupants,  to  be  dispossessed  in  their  turn  by  another  race?  We 
firmly  believe,  that  all  ide;is  of  property  in  the  lands,  over  .vhich  they 
roamed  after  game,  or  skulked  in  anjbush,  to  kill  one  another, — all  notions 
of  a  local  property  in  these  tilings,  have  been  derived  from  seeing  the 
value,  which  lands  acquire  from  the  occupancy  of  the  whites.  It  is  out 
of  all  question,  that  ages  before  they  had  seen  white  men,  they  were 
divided,  as  now,  into  an  hundred  potty  tribes,  engaged,  as  but  for  the 
interference  of  our  government  thoy  would  now  be,  in  endless  and  exter- 
minating wars,  in  which  they  dashed  infants  into  the  flames,  drank  the 
warm  blood  of  their  victim,  or  danced  and  yelled  round  the  slake,  where 
he  was  consuming,  in  the  fire.  If  they  found  the  country,  that  pleased 
them,  full  of  game,  and  unoccupied,  they  fixed  themselves  there  peace- 
fully. If  occupied,  they  made  upon  the  occupants  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion. When  their  desires  or  caprices  prompted  them  to  wander  to  another 
region,  they  left  nothing,  but  bark  hovels,  and  a  country,  where  game 
had  become  scarce,  for  one,  where  they  could  make  new  hovels  of  bark, 
and  find  game  plenty.  War  was  their  amusement,  prompted  by  their 
instinctive  appetite. 

It  is  no  crime  of  the  present  civilized  races,  that  inhabit  these  regions, 
that  their  forefathers  came  over  the  sea,  and  enclosed  lands,  and  cut 
down  trees,  where  the  Indians  had  hunted  and  fought.  If  they  will  not, 
and  can  not  labor,  and  cultivate  the  land,  and  lead  a  municipal  life,  they 
are  in  the  same  predicament  with  a  much  greater  number  of  drunkards, 
idlers  and  disturbers  of  society,  who  are  a  charge  and  a  burden  upon  it 
in  all  civilized  communities.  Like  them,  they  ought  to  be  treated  with 
tenderness;  to  be  enlightened  and  reclaimed,  if  possible;  and,  as  far  as 
may  be,  to  be  restrained  from  hurting  us,  and  each  other.  But  it  is  surely 
as  unjust,  as  it  is  preposterous,  to  speak  of  the  prevalence  of  our  race 
over  theirs,  as  an  evil;  and  from  a  misjudging  tenderness  to  them,  do 
injustice  to  our  own  country,  and  the  cause  of  human  nature. 

They  are  evidently  depopulating,  not  only  in  the  proximity  of  our 
people,  but  in  regions  too  remote,  to  be  afllected  by  our  contiguity. 
Such  is  the  case,  as  Pike  and  Long's  exploring  party,  and  the  Spanish 
remark,  in  tribes  so  remote  from  our  borders,  as  scarcely  to  have  heard 
of  our  government.  There  are,  however  exceptions  to  this  rule.  The 
Cherokees  and  the  Chactaws  increase  in  the  country  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, almost  in  a  ratio  as  great,  as  that  of  our  people.    It  is  earnestly 


to  be  V 
our  hal 
tribes, 
of  bene 
and  tha 
As  V 
this  val 
They  ir 
ges.    1 
stature; 
nre  of  v 
standarc 
all  the) 
there  is, 
than  is  s 
Persons, 
south,  ha 
In  Stat 
of our  pe 
tJie  middi 
The  sam( 
wares,  an( 
us  to  be  i 
nated  by 
of  the  CO 
tarnished 
We  have 
but  more 
But,  thou 
which  the 
of  such  ai 
difference 
The  same 

There 
tinguishes 
all  their 
black,  unt 
on  this  su 
The  hair 
not  raise 
peculiar  as 
in  knots  wl 


An<)Ru;iNis. 


109 


to  be  wished,  tlial  this  slnndiiicr  and  conclusive  i)roof  of  the  advantage  of 
our  habits  over  tlicirs,  will  not  be  without  its  impieasion  upon  the  other 
tribes.  But  it  is  much  to  he  feared,  that  do  what  we  may,  all  our  schemes 
of  benevolence  to  preserve  Ihom,  as  a  distinct  race,  will  prove  abortive; 
and  that  they  will  soon  be  known  oidy  in  history. 

As  we  have  remarked  some  writers  number  sixty  different  tribes  in 
this  valley.  They  are  scattered  over  an  immense  extent  of  country. 
They  inhabit  a  great  variety  of  climates.  They  speak  different  langua- 
ges. They  live  on  different  kinds  of  food.  There  are  differences  of 
stature;  and  tribes  of  savages  larger  and  smaller,  than  the  ordinary  stat- 
ure of  whites.  There  are  differences  of  character,  sensibility,  intellect, 
standards  of  opinion  and  morals,  and  very  different  usages ;  and  yet,  take 
all  the  varieties  of  the  races  in  the  different  climates  into  one  view,  and 
there  is,  probably,  a  greater  physical  and  moral  resemblance  among  them 
than  is  seen  among  the  inhabitants  of  any  other  region  on  the  globe. 
Persons,  who  have  seen  the  Chippeways  of  the  north,  or  the  Cados  of  tlie 
south,  have  observed  fair  samples  of  the  Indians  over  all  this  valley. 

In  stature  some  tribes  exceed,  and  some  fall  short  of  the  medial  stature 
of  our  people.  The  Dacotas,  the  Osages,  and  generally  the  savages  of 
tiie  middle  regions  of  the  Missouri,  are  something  taller,  than  our  people. 
The  same  may  be  observed  of  the  Cherokees.  The  Shawnese  and  Dela- 
wares,  and  the  Indians  of  the  lakes  and  the  upper  Mississippi,  appear  to 
us  to  be  shorter,  than  the  whites.  Their  complexion  is  generally  desig- 
nated by  the  term,  '  copper  colored.'  It  does  not  convey  an  exact  idea 
of  the  complexion  of  the  '  red  skins.'  It  is  something  darker  than  un- 
tarnished copper,  and  perhaps  nearer  the  color  of  well  smoked  bacon. 
We  have  seen  full  blooded  Indians,  both  of  the  north  and  of  the  south, 
but  more  frequently  in  the  latter  climate,  as  black  as  ordinary  negroes. 
But,  though  the  dark  tinge  was  as  intense,  there  is  a  shade  of  difference 
which  the  eye  catches,  and  language  cannot,  between  the  black  visage, 
of  such  an  Indian,  and  a  negro.  Take  the  tribes  together,  there  is  little 
difference  between  the  complexion  of  the  northern  and  southern  Indians. 
The  same  unchangeable  tinge  is  visible  even  in  the  new  bom  children. 

There  is  no  part  of  their  external  appearance,  that  more  strongly  dis- 
tinguishes them  from  all  other  people,  than  their  hair.  It  is  always,  in 
all  their  tribes,  and  under  all  circumstances,  and  in  each  of  the  sexes, 
black,  until  changed  by  age.  But  contrary  to  all,  that  has  been  asserted 
on  this  subject,  we  have  seen  an  hundred  instances  where  they  were  gray. 
The  hair  is  generally  described  by  another  term,  which,  perhaps,  does 
not  raise  very  distinct  impressions.  It  is  said  to  be  lank.  There  is  a 
peculiar  aspect  in  an  Indian  tress,  which  only  speaks  to  the  eye.  It  hangs 
in  knots  which  have  a  peculiar  feeling;  and  looks,  as  though  greased, 


■?  "  i  *'■ 


^ 


if 


no 


MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY. 


which  it  probably  is.    It  is  much  finer  tlian  the  hair  of  tlio  horse's  mane 
but  in  otiier  respects  resembles  it.    In  mixtures  with  the  wliites,  this 
singular  and  characteristic  appearance  of  flic  hair,  described  with  diffi- 
culty, but,  when  once  seen,  always  remembered,  remains  distinctly  visi- 
ble to  the  third  generation. 

They  are  generally  erect,  and  of  fine  forms,  witli  few  instances  of  ano- 
malous decrepitude  and  deformity.     This,  probably,  results,  partly  from 
the  manner,  in  which  the  children  arc  reared,  unswathed,  unspoiled  by 
indulgence  and  mismanagement  of  misguided  fondness;  but  more,  per 
haps,  to  the  circumstance,  that  feeble  children,  v/eak  from  deformity  or 
want  of  natural  vigor,  cannot  endure  the  first  hardships,  with  which 
nature  salutes  these  frail  beings  on  the  threshold  of  existence.    Nature 
cries  aloud  to  them,  as  Volncy  has  said  it, '  be  strong,  or  die ;'  and  only 
the  hardy  and  well  formed  survive.     They  have  cleaner  limbs,  not  so 
muscular,  and  bodies  with  less  tendency  to  corpulence,  than  the  whites. 
Corpulent  Indians  are  very  rn,rc ;  but  we  have  seen  two  or  three  full 
blooded  Indians  as  corpulent,  as   the  best   fed  burghers  of  our  cities. 
The  legs,  both  of  the  male  and  the  female,  have  a  remarkable  curve,  still 
more  distinguisliablc,  than  that  of  the  negro.    In  walking,  they  are  re- 
markable for  placing  one  foot  in  a  right  line  before  the  other,  and  seldom 
turn  their  toes  from  tliat  right  hne.    In  this  way  they  instantly  discover 
the  track  of  their  own  people,  as  distinct  from  ours.     They  walk,  too, 
the  one  directly  beliind  the  other,  in  what  is  called  Indian  file.    We  have 
often  seen  tlie  luisband  and  wife,  the  mother  and  daughter,  the  father 
and  son ;  and  even  two  equal  aged  young  men,  walking  together,  engaged 
apparently,  in  earnest  conversation ;  but  never  advancing  abreast.     The 
one  is  directly  behind   the  other.     Their  senses  are  entire,  acute,  and 
tliere  are  few  anomalies  from  the  general  analogy  of  human  conformation. 
The  forehead  is  broad,  and  almost  invariably  retiring  in  a  small  de- 
gree.   We  scarcely  remember  to  have  noticed  a  projecting  forehead. 
The  nose  is  prominent,  and  the  base  of  the  nostrils  has  a  remarkable 
expansion ;  and  in  the  male  it  is  more  commonly  aquiline,  than  otherwise. 
The  lips  are  intermediate  between  the  common  thinness   of  the  whites, 
and  thickness  of  the  negroes.     The  cheek  bones  are  high,  and  marked  ; 
and  the  face,  in  the  line  below  the  eyes,  uncommonly  wide, — ^and  on 
this  part  of  the  face  is  strongly  impressed  the  contour,  that  marks  the 
Indian  variety  of  the  human  countenance.  The  eyes  are  almost  invariably 
black;  but  of  a  shade  of  blackness,  very  distinct  from  what  we  call  such  in 
tlie  whites.  We  have  the  black  eye  of  Italians  and  Spaniards,  which  has  a 
color  and  expression ;  unlike  the  black  eye  of  the  Indians. — There  is  some- 
thing in  their  gait,  too,  apart  from   the  crookedness  of  their  legs;  their 
dress,  or  their  manner  of  placing  their  feet  the  one  before  the  other, 


whicJi  ( 
from  a 
TJic 
roundir 
Jar  and 
race.    1 
female  j 
was  onlj 
of  the  m 
mals  of] 
female  d 
and  foot 
reared  ir 
those  of : 
face  was 
aquiline, 
a  much  g 
effluvia  e 
perspirati( 
able,  thar 
supposed  1 
fragrant  h( 
perspiratio 
among  the 
In  their 
severer  pri 
or  perforn 
and  in  the 
people, 
most  perfe( 
all  day  in 
they  sink  e 
The  historj 
nations.     I 
whites  is  in 


ADORiaiNRS. 


Ill 


father 
engaged 
t.    The 
ute,  and 
rmation. 
mall  de- 
brehead. 
narkable 
herwise. 
whites, 
paarked  ; 
—and  on 
larks  the 
ivariably 
such  in 
lichhasa 
I  is  some- 
!gs;  their 
le  other, 


whicli  enables  us,  at  a  great  distance,  to  distinguish  an  advancing  Indian 
from  a  wliKe. 

Tlic  squaw   has  a  distinctly  female  conformation,  and  a  delicacy  of 
rounding  in  tiio   limbs,  as  distinct  from   the  liarsiicr  and  more  muscu- 
lar and  brawny  form  of  the  male,  still  more  strongly  marked,  limn  in  our 
race.    It  seems  a  refutation,  directly  in  point,  of  the  system  of  thoso 
female  philosophers,  who  have  nKscrtcd,  that  the  frailer  form  of  the  female 
was  only  owing  to  their  want  of  exposure,  and  the  early  gymnastic  habits 
of  the  male.     It  is  notorious,  that  the  squaws  arc  the  drudges,  the  ani- 
mals of  burden,  among  this  race,  from  their  infancy.     But  they  have  the 
female  delicacy  of  limb,  and  contour  of  joint,  and  slenderness  of  hand 
and  foot,  notwithstanding  as  distinctly  marked,  as  if  they  had  been 
reared  in  indolence  and  luxury.     The  legs  have  the  same  curve  with 
those  of  the  male.     Wc  have  scarcely  seen  an  instance,  where  the  female 
face  was  not  broad  and  oval.     The  nose  is  flattened,  scarcely  ever 
aquiline,  and  for  the  most  part  resembles  tliat  of  the  negro.     They  have 
a  much  greater  uniformity  of  face,  in  this  respect  than  the  male.    Tho 
effluvia  effused  from  their  bodies,  both  male  and  female,  when  in  high 
perspiration,  has  been  often  remarked  by  observers  to  bo  less  disagree- 
able, than  that  of  other  races,  in  similar  circumstances.     Some  have 
supposed  this  to  arise  from  their  almost  universal  use  of  unguents  from 
fragrant  herbs ;  others  that  they  have  a  less  copious  and  disagreeable 
perspiration.    Be  the  cause  what  it  may,  all  people,  who  have  been  much 
among  the  Indians,  agree  in  the  fact. 

In  their  moral  habits,  although  no  people  on  the  globe  will  endure 
severer  privations,  will  be  more  active,  or  travel  farther,  or  hunt  longer, 
or  perform  more  incredible  exploits  of  activity  and  daring,  in  their  wars 
and  in  the  chase,  they  must  still  be  pronounced  on  the  whole,  a  lazy 
people.  They  often  pass  from  the  extremes  of  travail  and  toil  to  the 
most  perfect  indolence.  Like  their  dogs,  they  will  scour  their  thickets 
all  day  in  the  chase;  and  like  them,  as  soon  as  their  toils  are  suspended, 
they  sink  either  to  sleep,  or  a  dozing  and  half  unconscious  existence. 
The  history  of  the  life  of  a  warrior,  is  a  history  of  these  constant  alterna- 
nations.  But  the  idea  of  the  steady  and  unremitting  industry  of  the 
whites  is  intolerable  to  them.  Tiie  history  of  the  Indians,  from  the  be- 
ginning, is  full  of  this  fact.  The  Spaniards  could  never  bring  the  Indians  • 
of  the  islands  to  the  steady  labors  of  agriculture.  They  have  been  a 
thousand  times  enslaved  in  North  America;  but  the  instance  is  scarcely 
on  record,  where  an  Indian,  male  or  female,  became  a  diligent  slave. 
With  them  the  stimulant  cflect  of  the  cliasc,  fostered  by  early  training, 
and  associated  with  the  idea,  that  success  in  it  confers  the  next  honors 
to  those  of  war,  and  is  one  of  their  means  of  existence;  or  the  still  higher 


I     *      In 


',H 


r  1 


112 


AJlSSISMirn    VALLIiY. 


excitcmciifs  of  ambition  and  rcveni(r;  goailini,Mhcm  to  war,  arc  the  only 
adequate  motives  to  overcome  their  nnlural  indolence.  Theirexcilc- 
tnents  removed,  the  vngrant  propensities  of  a  life  without  object  or  pur- 
suit, arc  with  tlicm  an  ovorwhchning  instinct,  in  opposition  to  daily  and 
unremitting  industry.  Extreme  avarice  in  tliose,  who  have  become  suc- 
cessful cultivators,  has  supplied  a  motive  of  siitlicicnt  energy  to  induce 
them  to  mental  exertion,  in  order  to  procure  slaves.  But  wherever  wo 
have  passed  fields  contiguous  to  Indian  vilhigos,  the  mean  and  miserable 
enclosures,  the  maize  planted  out  of  rows,  anil  crowded  together  at  une- 
qual distances;  in  short,  the  whole  appearance  of  tlioir  cultivation,  was 
auftlciently  indicative  of  Indian  character,  tliat  labor  was  their  strange 
work,  and  tliat  even  tlieir  more  industrious  women  and  children  wore 
but  poor  and  careless  cultivators. 

In  regard  to  their  moral  cliaracter  and  dispositions,  their  modes  of 
existence,  their  domestic  habits,  their  amiableness,  or  unamiableness,  dif- 
ferent writers  have  taken  very  diilerent  views.  Some  have  extolled  their 
condition,  as  comprising  the  highest  felicity  of  human  existence;  and 
their  manners  and  morals,  as  the  utmost  perfection  of  human  nature. 
Such  were  the  dreams  of  llosscuu;  and  under  tiicpen  of  Chataubriand, 
they  were  transformed  info  a  kind  of  aniiablo  and  happy  Arcadians. 
Volney  described  them  from  observation;  and  the  little,  that  he  has  said 
of  them,  shows  great  exactness,  and  depth  of  research,  and  describes 
more  of  the  real  character  and  condition,  tlinn  wliolc  volumes,  written  by 
others.  Heckewelder  had  lived  with  a  particular  tribe, — had  identiticd 
his  feelings,  and  almost  his  allcctions  with  them  and  their  interests. 
Having  a  very  narrow  circle  of  observation,  every  tiling  m  that  circle 
became  magnified  out  of  ])roportion.  Their  dim,  and  probably  fabulous 
traditions,  were  to  him  matter  of  sober  history.  His  views  of  them  do 
more  credit  to  the  benevolence  of  his  heart,  tlian  to  the  discriminatinf; 
powers  of  his  mind;  and  are  not  exactly  the  data,  on  which  a  philosopher 
"would  form  his  opinions  of  the  Indian  character.  About  the  character, 
scarcely  any  two  writers  have  been  agreed;  and  we  have  accounts  of 
tliem  almost  diametrically  opposite.  Charlevoix  was  one  of  the  first 
observers  of  the  savages  of  Canada  and  tlie  West.  lie  saw  them,  too, 
under  circumstances  favorable  for  the  devolopemcnt  of  their  real  charac- 
ter; before  their  manners  were  sophisticated,  or  altered  by  communica- 
tion with  the  whites.  lie  has  given  us,  perhaps,  the  most  faithful  account 
of  the  savages,  that  has  been  given.  It  accords  w^ith  the  views,  that  tlicy 
have  presented  to  us,  at  the  present  day.  On  the  whole,  his  picture  is 
that  of  a  race,  taken  as  a  whole,  neither  amiable,  nor  happy.  We  cannot 
expect  to  settle  the  collisions  of  opinion  upon  this  point.  The  brevity 
of  our  limits  confines  us  to  a  few  passing  lemarks.     We  shall  givcsonif 


of  die 
and  o 
thane 
As  i 
and  ru 
lian  re 
that  till 
ami  un 
a  trifli/i 
Kvcn  tl 
eountei 
tJie  ben 
encc  of 
lo  cxce 
fi'malo. 
out  of  si 
tors  of  ei 
seems  c* 
Then 
tions  of 
witJi  ext( 
(hem.     ' 
that  Jia  vol 
and  disp 
such  dcv 
tions — ai 
their  cab 
<'uslomar 
it.     The; 
pear  to  Ji 
occasions 
little  sur 
Their  coi 
roar  of  wi 
tlieir  app; 
hunger,  i 
ilieir  conj 
i    I  heir  afli; 
uatiire,  th 
have  inipi 
If  there 
freshness 


^:' 


AUnUlOtNES. 


113 


llic  only 
ir  excitc- 

or  pur- 
laily  and 
omo  sue- 
to  induce 
jrevcr  wc 
miserable 
Br  at  unc- 
ition,  was 
ir  strange 
dren  were 

modes  of 
lencss,  dif- 
I  oiled  their 
tcnce;  and 
ran  nature, 
ataubriand, 
Arcadians. 
:  he  has  said 
nd  describes 
3,  written  by 
id  identified 
ir  interests, 
n  that  circle 
bly  fabulous 

of  them  do 
scriminatinu 
I  philosopher 
le  character, 

accounts  of 
e  of  the  first 
,w  them,  too,  i 
r  real  charac-  f 
!  communica- 
thful  account 
Qws,  that  they 
his  picture  is 
We  cannot 
The  brevity 
hall  give  Eome 


of  tlicir  general  traits,  su<li  as  appear  tu  us  lu  be  cuninion  to  llio  race, 
and  of  which  all,  tiiat  Iimvo  been  extensively  ac<iiiainted  with  Indian 
cliarncter  and  m:inners,  will  acknowlcd;,^'  the  fidelity. 

As  a  race,  they  liavccoiiuteiinnccs,  that  tiro  ^'nnenilly  unjoyous,  stem 
and  ruminatinj,'.  It  is  with  tliciu  eitluu-  jrloomy  taciturnity,  or  hacchana- 
li;in  revel.  Wlien  you  iiear  ln(Hiiis  luiiohin^,  you  may  generally  infer, 
iliat  they  are  intoxicated.  An  liuiian  seldom  jests;  generally  si)eaks  low, 
;uid  under  his  breath;  and  loquacity  is  with  him  an  indication  of  being  a 
a  trifling  personage,  and  of  deeds  inversely  less,  as  his  words  are  more. 
J'^vcn  the  young  men  and  the  hoys  have  a  sullen,  moody  and  tlioughtfui 
countenance;  and  seem  to  have  little  of  that  elastic  gaiety,  with  which 
the  benevolence  of  Providence  lins  endowed  the  first  days  of  the  exist- 
ence of  most  other  beings.  From  this  gnioral  remark,  we  ought,  perhaps, 
to  except  the  squaw,  wlio  shows  some  analogy  of  nature  to  the  white 
lemale.  She  has  quicker  sensibilities,  is  more  easily  excited;  and  when 
out  of  sight  of  her  husband,  or  her  parents,  to  whom  these  things  arc  mat- 
ters of  espionage  and  of  after  reprehension,  she  laughs  and  con'crdes,  and 
seems  conscious  of  a  pleasurable  existence. 

The  males  evidently  have  not  the  quick  sensibilities,  the  acute  ^  ircep- 
tions  of  most  other  races.  Tliey  do  not  easily  or  readily  sympathize 
with  external  nature.  None  but  an  overwhelming  excitement  can  arouse 
tliem.  They  seem  callous  to  all  the  passions,  hut  rage.  The  instances, 
that  have  been  given  in  such  glowing  colors,  of  their  females  having  felt 
and  displayed  thepasssion  of  love  towards  individuals  of  the  whites,  with 
such  devoted  constancy,  have,  no  doubt,  existed.  But  they  were  excep- 
tions— anomalies  from  tiio  general  character.  We  have  seen  fathers  in 
their  cabins  caressing  their  children;  but  even  their  caressing  was  of  their 
customary  moody  and  stern  character,  and  as  if  they  were  ashamed  to  do 
it.  They  arc  apparently  a  sullen,  melancholy  and  musing  race,  who  ap- 
pear to  have  whatever  they  liave  of  emotion,  or  excitement,  on  ordinary 
occasions  going  on  in  the  inner  man.  Every  one  has  remarked,  how 
little  surprise  they  express  for  wliatever  is  new,  strange,  or  striking. 
Their  continual  converse  with  woods,  rocks  and  sterile  deserts,  with  the 
roar  of  winds  and  storms,  and  the  solitude  and  gloom  of  the  wilderness; 
their  apparent  exile  from  social  nature;  their  alternations  of  satiety  and 
lnmger,  their  continual  exposure  to  danger;  their  uncertain  existence; 
their  constant  struggle  with  nature  to  maintain  it;  the  little  hold,  which 
their  all'ections  seem  to  have  upon  life;  the  wild,  savage  and  hostile 
nature,  that  incessantly  surrounds  them; — these  circumstances  seem  (o 
have  impressed  a  steady  and  unalterable  gloom  upon  their  countenances. 
If  there  be,  here  and  there  among  them,  a  young  man,  who  feels  the 
freshness  and  vivacity  of  youthful  existence,  and  shows  any  thing  of  the 

15 


114 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEV. 


If;  II 


gaiety  and  volatility  of  other  animals  in  such  circumstances,  tliough 
otherwise  born  to  distinction,  he  is  denounced,  as  a  trifling  thing;  and 
the  silent  and  sullen  young  savage  will  naturally  take  the  place  of  him. 
They  seem  to  be  born  with  an  instinctive  determination,  to  be,  as  much 
as  possible,  independent  of  nature  and  society,  and  to  concentrate,  ns 
much  as  possible,  within  themselves  an  existence,  which  at  any  moment 
they  seem  willing  to  lay  down. 

Their  impassible  fortitude  and  endurance  of  suffering,  their  contempt 
of  pain  and  death,  invest  their  character  with  a  kind  of  moral  grandeur. 
It  is  to  be  doubted,  whether  some  part  of  this  vaunted  stoicism  be  not 
the  result  of  a  more  than  ordinary  degree  of  physical  insensibility.     It 
has  been  said,  with  how  much  truth  we  know  not,  that  in  amputation 
and  other  surgical  operations,  their  nerves  do  not  shrink,  or  show  the 
same  tendency  to  spasm,  with  those  of  the  whites.     When  the  savage,  to 
explain  his  insensibility  to  cold,  called  upon  the  white  man  to  recollect 
how  little  his  own  face  was  affected  by  it,  in  consequence  of  constant 
exposure,  the  savage  added  *  my  body  is  all  face.'     This  increasing  in- 
sensibility, transmitted  from  generation  to  generation,  finally  becomes 
inwrought  with  the  whole  web  of  animal  nature,  and  the  body  of  the 
savage  at  last  approximates  the  insensibility  of  the  hoofs  of  horses.   Con- 
sidering the  necessary  condition  of  savage  existence,  this  temperament 
is  the  highest  boon  of  Providence.    Of  course  no  ordinary  stimulus 
excites  them  to  action.     Few  of  the  common  motives,  excitements  or 
endearments  operate  upon  them  at  all.     Most  of  the  things,  that  move 
us,  they  either  do  not  feel,  or  hold  in  proud  disdain.     The  horrors  of  their 
dreadful  warfare;  the  infernal  rage  of  their  battles;  the  demoniac  fury  of 
gratified  revenge;  the  alternations  of  hope  and  despair  in  their  gambling, 
to  which  they  are  addicted,  even  beyond  the  whites;  the  brutal  exhilara- 
tion of  drunkenness ; — these  are  their  pleasurable  excitements.     These 
are  the  things,  that  awaken  them  to  a  strong  and  joyous  consciousness  of 
existence.    When  these  excitements  arouse  the  imprisoned  energies  of 
their  long  and  sullen  meditations,  it  is  like  iEolus  uncaging  the  whirl- 
winds.    The  tomahawk  flies  with  unpitying  and  unsparing  fury;  and  the 
writhing  of  their  victims  inspires  a  horrible  joy.     Let  the  benevolent 
make  every  exertion  to  ameliorate  their  character  and  condition.     Let 
Christianity  arouse  every  effort  to  convey  her  pity,  mercy  and  immortal 
hopes  to  their  rugged  bosoms.     But  surely  it  is  preposterous  to  admire 
the  savage  character  in  the  abstract.     Let  us  never  undervalue  the  com- 
fort and  security  of  municipal  and  civilized  life;  nor  the  sensibilities, 
charities  and  endearments  of  our  own  homes.    The  happiness  of  savages, 
steeled  against  sympathy  and  feeling,  at  war  with   nature,  with  the 
elements,  and  with  each  other,  can  have  no  existence,  except  in  the 


ARonKMNC-O* 


US 


H 


visionary    dreniuing    of   tliuse,  who  never  contemplated  their  actual 
condition. 

It  is  curious  to  remark,  tiuit  ditt'ercnt  as  arc  their  standards  of  opinion 
tVom  ours,  in  the  mriin  they  liave  much  the  same  notion  of  a  good  and 
ri'six^ctable  man,  that  wo  have.     If  \vc  mark  the  passion  for  military  dis 
play  among  our  race,  and  observe  what  jjoint  is  assigned  by  common 
feeling,  as  well  as  history  to  military  prowess,  we  shall  hardly  consider  it 
a  striking  difl'erencc  from  our  nature,  that  bravery  and  daring  command 
the  first  i)lace  in  their  homage.     Their  whole  training,  from  their  first  to 
their  last  hour,  inculcates  the  maxim,  that  courage  is  every  thing.     But 
apart  from  these  views,  the  traits  of  character,  that  entitle  a  man  to  the 
appellation  of  virtuous  and  good  among  us,  have  the  same  bearing  upon 
the  estimation  of  the  Indians.     In  conversing  with  them,  we  are  struck 
with  surprise,  to  observe  how  widely  and  deeply  the  obligations  of  truth, 
constancy,   honor,  generosity   and  forbearance  are  felt  and  understood 
among  them. 

It  has  been  often  observed  by  foreign  writers,  and  the  sentiment 
has  been  echoed  by  philosophers  of  our  own  country,  that  they  were 
less  subject  to  desire,  and  that  the  sexual  propensities  were  weaker  in 
their  race,  than  in  ours;  and  they  have  evidenced  the  want  of  beard  in 
the  males,  as  a  physical  proof.  The  Indians  are  as  particular,  as  the 
Parisians,  not  to  depart  from  their  own  modes  and  fashions.  But  we  have 
occasionally  seen  a  savage,  who  had  the  courage  or  the  affectation  to  be 
singular,  and  such  a  person  has  a  beard,  that  would  not  do  discredit  to 
an  Oriental.  It  is  well  known,  that  one  of  the  most  general  and  trouble- 
some employments  of  the  young  Indians  is,  to  pull  out  the  starting  crop 
of  beard  with  tweezers.  We  know  not  if  their  beard  would  grow  natur- 
ally as  abundant,  as  that  of  the  whites.  But  if  it  would  not,  it  is  un- 
questionably owing  to  other  causes,  than  want  of  natural  vigor.  Labor, 
a  diet  often  meagre  from  necessity,  exposure,  and  the  indulgence  of  pas- 
sions of  a  deeper  character,  as  ambition,  vindictiveness  and  the  appetite 
for  war,  would  probably  weaken,  if  not  extinguish,  in  whites,  passions, 
which  are  fostered  in  indolence,  plenty  and  repose.  But  when  savagea 
are  placed  in  situations  favorable  to  the  developement  and  indulgence 
of  animal  desires,  we  have  seen  no  indications  that  they  are  feebler,  or 
less  intense  in  them,  than  in  tlie  whites.  When  we  look  upon  the  wild 
and  naked  elements,  upon  which,  in  some  sense,  their  children  are  cast; 
when  we  consider  how  unfavorable  is  their  situation  for  rearing  children, 
we  are  astonished,  at  seeing  so  many  in  their  cabins.  Of  the  squaws, 
that  we  have  seen,  of  mature  age,  a  very  great  proportion  of  them  had 
their  babe,  either  swinging  in  its  bark  cradle,  suspended  between  two 
trees  J  or  if  the  mother  was  travelling,  hung  to  her  back  by  the  usual 


I  in 


MIBHI-SIPIM    VAI.I.KV. 


Htrin^'H,  pflflsrd  ovoi  licr  flliouUlor!*,  coinprcHsi'd  to  licr  hnck  liy  a  Imrk  vnfn\ 
not  nnlik(>  llir  siicll  of  a  turtoisc.  Itn  cnppcr  colored  nose  is  Hcrn  |M'(>piiif^ 
from  this  r,'«^M\  like  lli.il  of  n  tortoi<(i  IVoiu  iis  sIkII;  iind  cvni  tliu  iidliiiH 
nccm  to  feel,  tlint  cryin?  in  to  no  piirposc;  .itid  its  tioln  of^'riitris 
widom  hoard. 

It  in  to  \)o  liimonfcd,  that  thr  intorcoinso  of  tlu'whitrs  ninon^' thnii  has 
been  cnlcidatrd  to  convoy  any  iinprossion«  ol'llicrn,  rather  than  those  ol 
the  philosophers,  of  vvhnni  wo  have  spoken.  NumlxMless  fatal  ruses  of 
jealousy  are  recorded  of  their  yonn;.'  warriors,  in  relercMire  to  the  de|M»rl 
mcnt  of  onr  peoi)le  towards  their  \\ojnen,  while  ainoiij,'  iheni.  'J'hu  man 
ners  of  our  p(!Oplo,  in  this  inlerconrse,  hive;  too  oftiMi  heen  an  outrage 
upon  decency  and  humanity,  'i'lierc;  are  hut  few  trihes,  anion^'  whom 
the  passing  American  aojournor,  if  lie  have  any  resiM'ctahilily  of  appear- 
ance, docs  not  receive  the  oiler  of  a  d!m«,'hler,  or  periiaps  the  wife  ol'his 
host,  as  a  temporary  companion.  Almost  cnery  American  trader  and 
resident  among  them  lias  an  Indian  wile;  and  hut  too  often,  wives  in  the 
region,  which  they  left.  In  Lonif's  fnsi  expedition  an  instance  of  this 
sort  is  recorded,  of  the  deep  and  devoted  <onstancy  of  allcclion  on  the 
part  of  the  young  Indian  wife,  and  thriilinir  proofs  of  the  struggle  he- 
tween  maternal  and  conjugal  allecfion.  'J'hc  whole  story  is  characteristic; 
and  reflects  as  much  honor  ujwn  the  Indian  will'  and  mother,  as  it  does 
shame  and  contempt  on  the  base  and  cold  blooded  perfidy  of  the  American 
husband. 

In  all  the  Indian  tril)es,  they  have  contrived  to  cnuilate  the  most  polished 
and  civilized  people  in  the  extent  of  prostitution,  practised  among  theni; 
and  the  degraded  subjects  have  the  same  estimation  in  the  one  country 
and  the  other.     Unnatural  vices,  fornication  and  adultery  prevail  among 
many  of  the  tribes,  no  doubt,  to  a  groat  extent;  Uut  taking  into  view  the 
opportunities  in  the  solitude  of  tiic  desert,  the  smallness  of  their  socie- 
ties, and  the  diminished  influence  of  opinion,  that  results  from  it;  taking 
into  view,  that  they  have  no  laws,  but  indefinite  opinion,  no  religion,  and 
no  visible  restraints, — the  state  of  morals  in  those  respects  is  far  purer, 
than  would  naturally  be  exjiected.     Instead  of  admiring,  that  these  vices 
are  practised  among  them,  but,  perhaps,  not  to  a  greater  degree,  than  in 
civilized  countries,  it  is  to  a  thinking  mind  matter  of  astonishment,  that 
there  is  so  much  decorum  and  restraint  in  these  respects,  as  there  is.  Wc 
feel  constrained,  too,  to  place  this  decorum  among  themselves,  and  that 
astonishing  delicacy,  with  which  they  deport  themselves  towards  wiiitc 
females,  that  fall  into  their  power,  to  a  more  honorable  cause,  than  the 
destitution  of  passions.     When  we  liave  passed  various  Indian  tribes 
encamped  near  together,  in  company  with  ladies,  wc  have  observed  the 
same  manners,  and  the  same  indications  of  what  was  passing  in  thcii 


AIIUKH.INICH. 


117 


iiiiriil^,  tlial  wo  slioitid  rxi)orl  to  fcf  in  iiiitniiiind  niul  low  |tr(t|ili>  ninoii^ 
»iurM<'lvrH;  nor  liavr  \\(    ivr  l»«'licvr(l  for  ii  njnrnmf,  tint  Hic  proiM-ii 
silir«?  of  nature  arn  not  .^  MiroJi'i,  undor  similar  rirciunHlancj-s,  in  llicrn, 
as  in  iH. 

'I'luTo  iirr  <li(rrrc>nt  5»'iin(l;if<)s  of  inoriil*  nrnnn^  llioni,  as  ilicrc  art; 
ainnn;,'  titn  wliifr  nation  With  P»»in»*  friltos  adnlltiry  is  a  venial  oll'cncc; 
iind  in  otiiors  it  is  punislu'tl  wi'li  niutilution*  «l('iitli,  or  tin*  liandini,'  ovor 
lli(>  «Ici;rad«'d  fcrnalo  to  tln5  males  of  tlic  trilic.  Tlio  inHsliinroof  ii  yonnj^ 
flfpiaw,  who  is  n.  mother  lM>fnre  inarria;/e,  is  n  very  nneonimon  oeeiirrtMire; 
nnr  have  wo  as  mn<li  faith,  as  others,  in  their  adroitness  at  proenrin<^ 
abortion.  In  tin;  ease;  of  a  younif  Indian  woman  the  fact  of  prcji^'nancy 
oonid  not  1)0  hidden. 

The  modes  of  mana^jinf,'  niarriaye  arc  ns  various,  as  ainon^'  the  whiles. 
If  there  he  any  prevalent  cnstoni  amoni>  tlu;  trihes,  it  is,  that  the  parents 
rnana<,'0  the  matter;  and  the  yoim;.'  warrior  in  the  morning'  finds  the 
squaw,  elected  hy  the  parents,  sittinpr  in  his  ijuarters,  with  what<!ver  sho 
IS  expected  to  hrin//,  as  a  «lowry,  removed  with  her.  Il  sometimes,  but 
not  often,  happens,  that  Ik;  enters  his  dissent,  and  she  returns  with  her 
harrfja^re  to  her  motlier.  It  is  an  universal  custom  to  ntarry  as  many 
wives,  as  the  warrior  or  hunter  pleases.  This  is  an  nlliiir,  accurately 
prescribed  by  custom.  If  a  youn<^'  hunter  lias  been  for  a  Icntfth  of  tirno 
very  successful  in  hunting.',  like  a  rich  Turk,  he  is  authorized  by  opinion 
to  take  as  many  wives,  as  he  has  proved  himself  able  to  maintain. 

Jealousy  in  this  case,  and  in  all  other  cases,  shows  itself  under  tho 
same  forms,  which  it  would  naturally  assume  among  our  people.  In 
Long^s  first  exixjdition,  we  have  a  very  amusing  account  of  the  manner, 
in  which  a  wife  deports  herself,  when  her  husband  ha[)])ens  to  manifest 
a  greater  fondness  for  another  wife.  Sometimes  the  favorite,  to  avoid 
her  tongue,  teeth  and  nails,  flies  with  her  husband  to  tho  campaign  or 
hunt.  At  others,  in  dread  of  her  life,  sho  returns  to  her  parents.  When 
the  two  wives  quarrel,  whatever  be  the  taciturnity  of  the  husband,  there 
is  no  want  of  words  between  the  wives.  The  husband,  squat  on  his 
hnms,  with  his  j^ipe  in  his  mouth,  and  his  head  half  covered,  and  his  eyes 
half  closed,  effects  to  be  dozing,  while  they  rate  each  other.  If  tho 
contest  of  words  goes  on  to  blows,  as  is  often  the  case,  he  arises  with  the 
stern  air  of  a  judge,  and  parts  them,  with  a  manner,  that  indicates  which 
is  the  favorite.  TJic  wives  generally  find  one  lodge  too  narrow  f(jr  botli 
to  inhabit  together.  The  Indian  spends  his  time,  perhaps,  in  equal 
portions  between  thcni.  But  if  he  happens  to  spend  more  time  with  the 
one  than  the  other,  when  he  returns  to  the  neglected  wife,  she  manifests 
her  view  of  the  case  hy  kicking  his  dog,  throwing  his  food  on  the  ground, 
and  admitting  him  with  great  frankness  into  her  thoughts  of  him  and  Jiis 


»'>"  1   '  ■■  -I'm 

miiM 


S* 


i 


118 


MliJSISSIPPI    VALLHY. 


favorite.    The  more  our  species  arc  studied,  tJie  more  clearly  it  is  found, 
that  the  human  lieart  is  every  where  the  same. 

It  is  beyond  all  question,  that  some  of  the  tribes  now  occasionally 
practise  cannibalism;  and  that  before  the  new  world  was  visited  by  the 
whites,  it  was  a  custom  generally,  if  not  universally  prevalent  among 
them.  The  imperceptible  influence  of  the  horror,  with  which  this  practise 
is  regarded  by  the  whites,  has  made  its  way  among  them;  and,  little  as 
they  are  disposed  to  confess,  that  they  are  swayed  by  our  opinions,  the 
earnestness  with  which  they  deny  the  existence  of  the  practise  at  present 
in  their  tribes,  and  with  which  they  attempt  to  vindicate  their  ancestors 
from  the  charge,  is  an  incontcstible  admission  of  the  influence,  which 
our  opinions  exercise  over  them. 

It  would  extend  these  remarks  beyond  our  object,  to  give  extensive 
and  general  details  of  Indian  manners  and  modes  of  life.  An  important 
era  with  the  youth  of  all  the  tribes  is  that,  when  they  pass  from  minority 
to  the  duties  and  estimation  of  warriors  and  hunters.  This  period  is 
celebrated  with  great  solemnity.  It  is  well  known,  that  hunting  is  the 
serious  business,  and  war  'he  important  amusement  and  pleasure  of  their 
lives.  The  manner,  in  which  they  conduct  these  pursuits,  is  sufliciently 
well  known.  Their  modes  of  constructing  their  habitations  vary,  accord- 
ing as  they  dwell  in  a  country  of  forests  or  prairies,  or  northern  or 
southern  climate.  Although  in  the  very  few  instances,  in  which  the 
savages  have  become  cultivators  in  good  earnest,  they  may  have  con- 
structed good  houses,  the  far  greater  portion  aim  at  nothing  more,  than 
the  frailest  and  rudest  cabin.  Yet  in  the  construction  of  these,  there  are 
the  same  differences,  as  are  seen  in  the  cabins  of  the  backwoods  men, 
Some  are  extremely  rude;  and  some  are  framed  with  ingenious  and 
persevering  reference  to  comfort  and  utility.  The  same  differences  are 
visible  in  the  internal  arrangement  and  keeping  of  the  cabin*  In  most 
instances  the  interior  is  filthy  and  uncomfortable,  beyond  the  endurance 
of  any  but  a  savage.  We  have  been  in  others,  where  the  neatly  matted 
floor,  or  the  earth  covered  with  tho  fresh  verdure  of  the  palmetto,  and  the 
neatness  of  all  the  accompaniments,  gave  the  scene  such  an  air  of  com- 
fort, as  created  a  train  of  pleasant  associations  with  the  place. 

Like  all  ignorant  people,  unable  to  trace  the  relation  between  resuUs 
and  causes,  they  are  beyond  all  other  people  superstitious.  It  may  be 
laid  down,  as  an  universal  trait  of  the  Indian  character.  The  warrior, 
who  braves  death  a  thousand  times  and  in  every  form  in  the  fury  of  battle, 
carries  with  him  to  the  combat  a  little  charmed  bag  of  filthy  and  disgust- 
ing ingredients,  in  which  he  places  no  little  reliance,  as  security  against 
the  balls  and  arrows,  that  are  fired  upon  him.  They  are  much  addicted 
to  faith  in  dreams.    One  of  the  dreamers,  the  day  before  alert,  confident 


and  i 
one  s 
abstir 
food, 
bledi 
that  a 
drudg 
estimg 
dream 
TJii; 
induce 
cJiaraci 
had  a  t 
*  SJiawi 
late  wa: 
the  infli 
he  was 
enemies 
in  his  tx 
soever  h 
be  arsen 
Every 
ble,  is  a 
degree  c 
with  Inc 
the  immj 
ingenuitl 
who  proi 
almost  a\ 
soul. 
dah,^  or 
wrath;  al 
have  forij 
particulaj 
prophets  [ 
this  Spirij 
of  some 
great  mys 
ecy,  and 
notions  ol 
from  theij 
fcmperati 


ARORIGtNES. 


119 


n  results 
t  may  be 

warrior, 
of  battle, 
1  disgust- 
y  against 

addicted 
confident 


and  intrepid,  awakes  the  next  morning,  subdued  and  timid.  He  paints 
one  side  of  his  face  black.  Ho  subjects  himself  to  the  most  rigorous 
abstinence  and  fasting.  Nothing  can  induce  him  to  indulge  or  tasto 
food,  until  the  interdict  has  passed  away.  He  has  dreamed  an  unfavora- 
ble dream.  Such  astonishing  hold  have  these  dreams  upon  their  mind, 
that  a  warrior  has  been  known  to  assume  the  dress,  the  duties,  the 
drudgery,  and,  what  is  infinitely  more  humiliating  to  an  Indian,  the 
estimation  and  standing  of  a  squaw,  in  consequence  of  one  of  these 
dreams. 

This  great  tendency  to  superstition  in  an  Indian  mind  furnishes  strong 
inducements  to  ingenious  and  bold  impostors  among  tliem,  to  assume  the 
character  of  jugglers,  quacks,  medicine  men  and  prophets.  Our  country 
had  a  terrible  proof  of  the  efficacy  of  this  assumption,  in  the  case  of  the 
*  Shawnee  prophet,'  and  inferior  men  of  the  same  character,  during  the 
late  war.  A  chief  among  the  savages  of  the  Missouri  exercised,  through 
tlie  influence  of  fear,  a  long  and  severe  authority  over  Indians,  by  whom 
he  was  abhorred.  He  had  a  medicine  bag  of  terrible  efficacy;  and  his 
enemies  fell  on  his  right  hand  and  on  his  left.  It  was  a  received  opinion 
in  his  tribe,  that  his  wish  had  a  withering  and  fatal  influence  on  whom- 
soever he  directed  it.  After  his  death,  his  grand  medicine  was  found  to 
be  arsenic. 

Every  thing  with  them,  of  great  efficacy  and  power,  that  is  inexplica- 
ble, is  a  '  medicine ; '  and  the  medicine  men  among  them  have  the  next 
degree  of  consideration  to  chiefs  and  noted  warriors.  We  have  conversed 
with  Indians,  who  were  atheists,  and  treated  as  fabulous  all  notions  of 
the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  and  defended  their  opinions  with  as  much 
ingenuity,  as  abandoned  people  of  the  lower  orders  among  ourselves, 
who  profess  to  hold  the  same  opinions.  But  in  some  shape  or  form, 
almost  all  savages  admit  the  being  of  a  God.  and  the  immortality  of  the 
soul.  The  Great  Spirit  is  termed  in  many  of  their  languages, '  Wakcon- 
dah,''  or  Master  of  Life.  Storm  and  thunder  are  manifestations  of  his 
wrath ;  and  success  in  war  and  hunting,  of  his  favor.  Many  of  the  tribes 
have  forms  of  prayer,  in  the  use  of  which  they  are  regular  and  earnest, 
particularly  when  starting  on  expeditions  of  hunting  or  war. — Their 
prophets  occasionally  give  out,  that  they  have  had  communications  with 
this  Spirit,  who  has  made  himself  visibly  manifest  to  them,  in  the  form 
of  some  bird  or  beast;  and  they  paint  their  faces  black,  and  observe 
great  mystery  on  the  occasion ;  and  thence  derive  their  pretensions  to  proph- 
ecy, and  to  be  treated  with  the  deference  of  '  medicine  men.'  Their 
notions  of  the  condition  of  departed  spirits  are  such,  as  we  might  expect 
from  their  character  and  condition.  In  some  distant  regions  of  a  southern 
temperature,  they  place  the  home  of  the  worthy  departed  in  the  country 


li 


«■■?■ 


',1, 


m'.  ' 


v«; 


ViO 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEV. 


I 


of  'brave  and  free'  spirits,  who  pass  to  that  country  of  game  and  good 
cheer  over  a  bridge,  scarcely  wider  than  a  hair,  suspended  over  a  yawning 
gulf.  They,  who  have  firm  hearts  and  feet,  and  unblenching  counte- 
nances,— that  is  to  sny,  who  were  good  warriors  in  life,  pass  safely  over 
the  bridge;  while  tlie  timid  and  trembling  fall  into  the  gulf  below. 

Though  they  will  sometimes  talk  of  these  matters  with  great  earnest- 
ness and  apparent  conviction,  yet,  wc  believe,  of  all  people,  that  have 
been  known  on  the  earth,  their  thoughts,  hoijcs  and  fears  dwell  the  least 
on  any  thing  beyond  this  life.  It  seems  to  be  inexplicable  to  them,  that 
any  part  of  their  conduct  here  can  have  any  bearing  upon  their  condition 
hereafter.  If  they  can  be  comfortable,  and  gain  their  points  in  this  life, 
they  concern  themselves  very  little  about  what  will  happen  to  them  in 
the  life  to  come.  Of  course  adult  savages  have  too  often  been  found 
hopeless  subjects,  upon  whom  to  bestow  the  pure  and  sublime  truths 
of  our  gospel.  The  days  of  the  Brainards  and  Elliots  seem  to  have  gone 
by;  or  the  western  and  southern  savages  are  more  hopeless  subjects  for 
conversion,  than  those  of  the  north.  They  have  certainly  been  found 
utterly  destitute  of  the  plastic  docility  of  the  Mexican  and  Peruvian 
Indians.  Charlevoix  has  given,  as  a  characteristic  trait  of  the  Canadian 
and  western  savages  of  this  day,  one,  that  has  been  found  equally  appli- 
cable to  them  at  the  present  time.  They  listen  with  apparent  docility 
and  attention  to  our  expositions  of  our  religion,  our  faith,  and  ourhojics; 
and  assent  to  all,  and  admit,  that  this  may  all  be  true,  in  relation  to  indi- 
viduals of  our  race.  They  relate  in  turn  their  own  fables,  their  own 
<lim  and  visionary  notions  of  a  God  and  hereafter;  and  exact  the  same 
docility  and  complaisance  to  their  creed,  wliich  they  yielded  to  ours. 

In  respect  to  the  lesser  morals,  all  savages  in  this  region  are  hospitable. 
Even  the  enemy,  whom  they  would  have  sought,  and  slain  far  from  their 
t;abins,  who  presents  himself  fearlessly  there,  claims,  and  receives  their 
hospitality.  They  accord  to  the  cabin  hearth  the  honors  and  the  sanctity 
of  an  asylum.  A  great  number  of  instances  are  on  record,  of  savages 
of  hostile  tribes,  obnoxions  to  the  most  deadly  revenge  of  particular  war 
riors,  presenting  themselves  on  a  sudden  before  those  warriors,  and 
offering  their  bosoms  to  the  knife,  Tiiis  iieroism  often  not  only  disarms 
revenge,  but  with  admiration  excites  more  generous  feelings  and  brings 
about  a  peace  between  the  contending  tribes.  Tliat  part  of  our  charac 
ter,  which  they  are  the  last  to  understand,  is  that  when  we  have  received 
in  their  villages  the  most  ample  hospitality,  they,  in  returning  the  visit, 
should  find,  that  our  strangers  lodged  in  taverns. 

We  have  not  ihesame  plenary  faith  in  their  tenacious  remembrance  ol 
kindnesses,  and  the  certainty  of  our  dependence  u[>on  the  constancy  ol 
their  friendship.     Wc  consider  them  a  treacherous  people,  easily  swayed 


ScJiool 
Pottaw 
as  a  goi 
the  usi 
give  wh 
vvlien  ol 
Tiic  Int 
rascal.'  I 
Allw 
colors  tl 
curse, 
Every  r 
upon  us 
the  ine\ 
poison, 
the  gene 
carried 
access, 
state  go\ 
tliis  subj 
iind  muc 
and  of 
states  in 
'lie  gene 
heinirs 

o 

It  has 

'ynisJimc 


.>ic 


AEORIGLNES . 


121 


savnest- 
it  have 
ic  least 
im,  thai 
mditiun 
.his  life, 
them  in 
ill  found 
,e  truths 
avc  gone 
)jects  for 
;n  found 
Peruvian 
Canadian 
lUv  appU- 
t  docility 
mrho^Xis; 
in  to  indi- 
iheir  own 

the  same 
»  ours, 
lospitablo, 
from  tlicir 
ives  their 
\e  sanctity 
of  savages 
cular  war 
rriors,  and 
ily  disarms 

and  brings 
3ur  cliarac 
vc  received 
12  tlie  visit. 

mbrancr  cl 
onf^tancy  oi 
sily  swayctl 


4 


from  their  purpose,  paying  their  court  to  the  divinity  of  good  fortune, 
and  always  ready  to  side  with  the  strongest.  We  should  not  rely  upon 
Ihcir  feelings  of  to-day,  as  any  pledge  for  what  they  will  be  to-morrow. 

They  are  well  known  for  their  voraciousness  of  appetite.  They  endure 
hunger  and  thirst,  as  they  do  pain  and  deatli,  with  astonishing  patience 
and  constancy.  When  they  kill  a  deer,  a  buffalo,  or  a  bear,  after  a  long 
abstinence,  they  will  devour  an  enormous  quantity  of  the  flesh.  Their 
fatal  and  devoted  attachment  to  ardent  spirits  is  matter  of  melancholy 
notoriety.  In  all  their  councils,  and  talks  and  conferences  with  the 
ollicers  of  tJie  government,  from  lake  Erie  to  the  Rocky  mountains,  tlic 
first  and  the  last  request  is  *  whiskey.'  This  is  tlie  only  point,  upon 
wliich  it  is  useless  to  appeal  to  the  feelings  of  honor  and  shame  in  an 
Indian.  Declaim,  as  we  may,  against  the  use  of  it ;  paint  the  ill  effects  of 
it,  as  strongly  as  we  choose;  speak  with  as  much  contempt  as  wo  may, 
of  drunkards;  their  best  and  their  bravest  still  clamor  for.whiskey. 
Schoolcraft  gives  us  a  characteristic  anecdote  to  this  effect.  A  noted 
Pottawattomie  chief  presented  himself  to  the  American  agent  at  Chicago, 
as  a  good  man,  and  a  good  friend  to  the  Americans,  and  concluded  with 
the  usual  request  for  whiskey.  The  rei)ly  was,  that  the  agent  did  not 
give  whiskey  to  good  Indians;  that  such  neither  asked  for  it,  nor  drank  it, 
when  offered;  that  it  was  bad  Indians  only,  who  asked  for  whiskey. 

The  Indian  replied  with  great  quickness,  in  broken  English,  *  Mo  d n 

rascal.' 

All  words  would  be  thrown  away  in  attempting  to  pourtray  in  just 
colors  the  effects  of  whiskey  upon  such  a  race.  It  is,  indeed,  tlio  heaviest 
curse,  that  their  intercourse  with  tho  whites  has  entailed  upon  them. 
Every  obligation  v  f  duty,  as  philanthropists  and  Christians,  imposes 
upon  us  all  possible  cllbrts  to  prevent  tho  extirpation  of  the  whole  race; 
the  inevitable  consequence  of  their  having  free  access  to  this  liquid 
poison.  We  have  adverted  to  tho  stern  and  rigorous  prohibitions  of 
the  general  government,  and  the  fidelity  with  which  they  are  generally 
carried  into  effect;  yet,  in  some  way  or  other,  wherever  Americans  have 
access,  Indians  have  whiskey.  It  is  understood,  that  the  laws  of  the 
state  governments  and  of  the  general  government  are  not  in  concert  upon 
this  subject.  It  is  matter  of  undoubted  fact,  that  in  the  states,  the  Indians 
lind  much  less  difficulty  in  procuring  whiskey,  than  in  the  territories; 
and  of  course  intoxication  is  far  more  common.  Tho  duties  of  the 
states  imperiously  call  upon  them,  to  frame  laws  in  unison  with  those  of 
tlic  general  government,  and  to  unite  with  that,  to  prevent  these  unhappy 
beings  from  exercising  their  suicide  propensities. 

It  has  been  inferred,  because  they  make  it  a  point,  not  to  express  as- 
tonishment, or  curiosity,  in  view  of  our  improvements  and  arts,  that  they 

16 


r: 


i 


m 


m 


I 'I'  J 

mm 


•I 


niississiiTi  \.\M,i:v, 


linvo  lit  lit*  curiosity;  atui  iKriuisc  llicy  mhmii  lo  iinid  tluMii  iii  <'()IiUmii|)1 

nnd  disdain,  timl  tlicy  liavo  iu)lliiiii(  aiialonrons  to  llio  <-.iipidity,  vanity,  or 

prido  of  tlio  whites.     Tlu-y  aic,  inKincslionaltly,  a  very  proud  race;  and 

(heir  prido  inthicos  thoui  to  alU'cl  indillcrcuco,  and  t(>  hold  tlM)sothin;^s  in 

npparout  contoujpt,  wliii'h  they  aro  Cdnscious  they  ciui  not  ohiain.     As 

regards  tJieir  vanity,  we  have  not  ofieu  had  the  Itntune  lo»"onttMM|>lalf;i 

youn<i[  stjuaw  ut  her  toih'tte.     Hut  from  the  stuilied  arran;j[einent «»!'  Jier 

calico  jacket,  from  tlio  i,darin<,'  cir<  li>s  of  verniillion  on  htM-  round  I'aee, 

from  tlu>  artificial  nianntM',  in  whieli  her  hair  is  ehildx'd,  and  IVoin  the 

lime,  which  she  oeeupies  in  conipletin«i;  these  arnmi.feinenls,  we  infer, 

that  dress  and  jUMSonal  ornament  oeeupy  the  same  porlionol"  iier  llionnhln 

(hut  they  do  of  tJie  rasiiional)le  woman  of  civili/ed   soeii'ty.     A  yonn;; 

Tmlian  warrior,  is  notoriously  the   most  tliorou;.;h  ^'oin<,'  heau   in   the 

world.       Broatlway  and  JJond  street,  rurnisii  no  snlijeels,  that  will  spend 

as  much  tinie,  or  endure  as  nmch  crimpin;j[  and  eonlinement,  to  ap|>ear  in 

full  dress.  We  think,  that  we  have  observed  sm-h  a  charaeler,  eonslanlly 

employed  witJi  his  paints  and  his  poeket  ^lass  lor  three  lull  hours,  layini^' 

on  his  paints,  and  arranj];in<i;  his  tresses,  and  eonlemplalin^j;  with  visible 

Butistaction,  from  time  to  time,  the  proj>;ress  of  his  attractions.  The  ehiefs 

and  warriors  in  full  dress  have  one,  two  or  tlnve  clas[)s  of  silver  ahoni 

their  arms,  generally  jewels  in  their  cars,  and  oI'Icmj  in   their  ih)s«';  and 

notliiiiji  is  more  conunon,  than  to  see  a  thin,  cireular  pit'ee  of  silver,  of 

the  si/e  of  a  dollar,  hanging  fri)m  their  nose,  a  little  l)elow  their  upper 

lip.     This  ormunent,  so  horribly  inconvenient,  seems   to  be  ouv  of  the 

highest  Indian  taste.     Painted  porcni)iiie(piills  are  twirled  in  their  hair. 

Tails  of  animals  hang  from  the  hair  behind;  or  from  the  point,  when' 

tJiey  were  originally  api)ended  to  the  animal.  A  necklace  of  bears'  ov  ali- 

gator'n  tecth,or  claws  of  the  bald  eagle,  or  common  n-d  beads,  or  wanlini,' 

these, a  kind  of  rosary  of  red  hawthorns,  hangs  about  the  neck.     Kroia 

the  knees  to  the  feet  the  legs  are  ornamented  with  great  numbers  of  little 

perforated  cylindrical  pieces  of  silver  or  brass,  that  tinkle,  as  tlu;  person 

walks.     If  to  all  this,  he  add  an  American  hat,  and  a  soldier^s  coat  el' 

blue,  faced  witJi  rcil,  over  the  customary  calico  shirt,  he  steps  iirinly  on 

the  ground,  to  give  to  his  tinklers  a  simultaneous  noise,  and  api)arenll) 

considers  his  jHirson  with  as  nuich  com[)laceney,  as  the  human  boseiii 

can  be  supposed  to  feel.     This  is  a  very  cmtailetl  view  of  an  Indian 

beau,  and  faithful,  as  far  as  it  goes,  to  the  description  of  almost  every 

young  Indian  at  a  great  public  dance. 

So  many  faitliful  prints  have  recently  lieen  presented  to  the  pid)lic  of 
the  Indian  figure  ami  costume,  that  most  of  those,  who  have  not  seen  ilu: 
living  subject,  have  defmite  views  of  it  The  males  for  the  most  pari 
wear  leggins,  sitting  closely  frouj  the  loins  to  the  ancles  generally  ol' 


sniok 
[((•yoi 
sh()nl( 
skin  ( 
with  ( 
/Mcnts 
<lress, 
iiig,'  1 
eontig 
colors 
Ming  a 

'i'h(! 

ih<'  me 
We  do 
••my  oiJ 
liairarc 
large  el 
They 
and  whi 

charade 
willi  grc; 
tli(!  busi 
tiieir  l»o 
danee; 
very  m 
stantly 
take  no 
liaveheii 
Incrct 
lebanks. 
•maginai 
midonbtt 
of  pain  a 
knives  ai 
snceess. 
tliis  d<!sii 
'■u1  of  jeiji 
'icieney. 
'crcinon; 
<heir  me(| 
scaianioij 
nicdiciiie 


AltOUKMMN. 


I5i3 


public  of 
1  seen  I  In; 

uciullv  ol' 


siiioki' liiMiKul  dear  nIuii,  soiiictiiiKs  ol' IiIikm-IoIIi.  Tiiosc,  vvlio  iiiliuMt 
iMtyoi"!  '''•'  raiijfd  ofllic  biilliilo,  wear  !i  ltlaiik(>!,  llirnwu  loosrly  over  llio 
.slioiildrrH;  and  those,  who  live  in  lh(!  re^Mon  oflhe  hultido,  vvenr  ii  dressed 
skill  of  that  animal  Their  nioecasins  are  ornamented  with  extrenno  care, 
with  dilllirent  eolored  porcupine  <|iiiliH,  arran/^'ed  in  liiiOH  and  conipart- 
int^ntH.  ISuL  in  tlu;  sultry  luonths,  they  are  often  s(;<;n  with  no  other 
dress,  than  a  piece  ofhliic!  <iolh,  in  the  lanj^uajfo  oftho  c.«tuntry, '  stroiid- 
iii/l,'  passed  between  lli<;  tlii;L';hs,  and  brou;,dit.  roiuid  the  loins.  In  re<,'ions 
eontii'Uous  to  the  whiles,  they  hav(!  ijeni-rally  a  calico  shirt,  of  iho  liiicst 
coliMs;  and  IJii-y  art;  particularly  attached  to  a  long  calico  dress,  rcsem- 
l)lin<f  a  inoniin^f  n()\vn. 

'I'iie  women  iiav<!  a  calico  jacket,  le<,'gins,  notinucli  uidiko  tlioso  of 
the  men,  and  wherever  tliey  can  allbrd  it,  a  blue  Ijroadclotli  |)oUicout. 
Wo  do  not  rememlu.'r  to  have  seen  Tndians  (iitliermah;  or  female,  allect 
any  otlier  colors,  than  nul  or  blui;.  The  thick,  lieavy,  Idack  tresses  of 
hair  art!  parted  on  the  forehead,  and  skewered  with  a  (piill  or  thorn  in  a 
laviTC  club  behind. 

They  have  varioiis  dances,  to  which  they  an;  extrava;,'antly  att.a(;lied; 
and  which  often  have,  as  <lid  the  dances  of  the  old  time,  a  n;li<,'iou3 
character.  The  aged  council  chiefs  drum,  and  the  youuf^'  warriors  dance 
with  yreat  vehemtMu-.e,  beatin;^'  the '^Mound  with  tluMr  feet.  Tlioy  pursue 
tlu!  business  willi  a  vigor,  which  causes  the  perspiration  to  pour  from 
their  bodies.  They  have  the  war,  the  council,  the  feast,  and  the  dog 
dance;  and  tunes  corresponding  to  the  ditferent  objects.  The  tunes  are 
very  monotonous,  running  through  only  three  or  four  notes,  and  con- 
stantly recurring  to  the  same  strain.  In  most  of  the  tribes,  the  women 
take  no  part  in  the  song  or  dance. — Among  some  of  the  tribes,  wc 
have  heard  the  women  chime  in  on  the  last  note. 

Incredible  stories  are  related  of  the  powers  of  their  jugglers  and  moun- 
tebanks. Many  of  their  alleged  feats  never  took  place,  except  in  the 
imaginations  oftho  ignorant  people,  who  related  them.  But  they  Iiavo 
undoubtedly,  a  rigidity  of  nnisch^,  a  callousnessof  nerve,  and  a  contempt 
of  pain  and  wounds,  that  enabh;  them  to  achieve  swallowing  fire,  putting 
knives  and  swords  down  their  throats,  antl  such  like  exploits  with  great 
success.  'J'o  create  admiration  is  of  course  a  passion  with  them;  and 
this  d(;sire  incites  them  to  thought  and  study,  in  order  to  learn  the  mystic 
art  of  legerdemain,  in  which  they  certainly  attain  no  inconsiderable  pro- 
ficiency. Their  medicine  men  are  a  kind  of  jugglers;  and  there  is  much 
eercmony  anil  alU-eiation  of  mystery,  in  the  preparing  ajid  administering 
their  medicines.  The  most  anuising  part  of  this  business  is,  that  the 
scaramouch  who  has  gone  through  all  the  ceremonies,  and  prej)ared  tlic 
medicine,  generally  takes  it  himself.     We  have  little  faith   in    their 


:%: 


121 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


boasted  acquaintance  witli  remedies,  from  tlicir  own  vegetable  kingdom. 
We  have  remarked,  that  wlien  they  were  near  our  sctltemcnts,  their 
sick  are  in  the  habit  of  applying  to  our  physicians. 

The  Indian  head  is  such,  as  we  would  suppose  the  craniologists  would 
select,  as  finely  moulded  for  intelligence.  In  this  respect  he  would 
probably  place  them,  as  a  race,  l)eside  the  homo  sapaicna  Europaius. 
We  have  seen  them  in  every  position,  to  try  native  acuteness.  We  have 
taught  their  young.  We  consider  them  naturally  a  shrewd,  intelligent 
people,  with  heads  capable  of  the  highest  mental  devclopement  in  every 
department  of  thought,  in  as  great  a  degree,  as  our  own  race.  They 
have,  probably,  as  much  curiosity,  but  a  more  stern  perseverance  in  the 
effort  to  suppress  it.  The  first  time  that  they  witness  a  steam  boat,  they 
never  suppress  the  outward  expression  of  their  admiration,  and  their  em- 
phatic 'wgA." 

Languages.    It  can  not  be  expected,  that  we  should  dismiss  this 
article,  which  with  every  cflbrt  to  curtail  it,  has  grown  up  under  our  hands, 
without  remarking  upon  their  languages.     In  all  their  dialects  we  sus- 
pect, that,  like  the  Chinese,  their  words  were  originally  but  of  one  syllable. 
— Every  word,  then,  of  more  than  one  syllable,  has  been  formed  in  the 
progress  of  advancing  ideas  among    them,  by  a  corresponding  com- 
bination of  ideas.      Having  few  abstractions  among  their  ideas,  and 
knowing  and  caring  little  about  our  complex  combinations  of  thought, 
conversable  wholly  with  tangible  and  visible  matters,  their  expressions 
are  paintings  of  sensible  ideas  with  the  coloring  matter  of  woids.     When- 
ever we  undertake  to  convey  to  them  a  connected  chain  of  abstract  ideas, 
they  turn  to  us  for  a  while  with  a  complacent  inclination  of  the  head,  and 
apply  their  hand  to  their  ear,  with  the  sign,  so  readily  understood  by  all 
Indians  to  imply,  that  they  are  deaf.     Their  manner  of  numbering,  cvi. 
dences  the  extreme  simplicity  of  their  language.     We  have  requested 
of  all   the  tribes,  with  which  we  have  been  conversant,  their  terms  of 
numbering,  as  far  as  an  hundred.    In  some  the  terms  are  simple  as  far  as 
ten.     In  others  six  is  five-one,  seven  five-two,  and  so  on.    Beyond  ten 
they  generally  count  by  reduplication  of  the  ten.    This  they  perform  by 
a  mechanical  arithmetic,  intricate  to  explain,  but  readily  apprehended  by 
the  eye.    Some  of  the  tribes  are  said  to  be  perplexed  in  their  attempts  to 
number  beyond  an  hundred.    When  the  question  turned  upon  any  point, 
that  involved  great  numbers,  we  have  generally  heard  tlic;'i  ^a vail  them- 
selves of  an  English  word,  the  first,  we  believe,  and  the  most  universally 
understood  by  savages — heap  !     We  have  read,  that  in  some  of  their  lan- 
guages, there  are  subtleties  of  structure,  and  nice  shades  of  divisions  of 
time,  in  the  tenses  of  their  verbs,  that  transcend  even  the  famed  exact- 
ness and  finish  of  the  Greek.     There  is  sonicthing  inexplicable,  it  must  be 


ri(hiii(l 
a  jjooji 
We; 
iltat  a  ] 
post.  1 
they  gi 
pnije  of 
accent  i 
Amcric 
purport 
j)atriarc 
Indians 
Pawnee, 
not  foro 
language 
maxim,  i 
except  I 
language 
and  a ecu 
After  a 
tlie  most 
energy  of 
wJicrc  it 
municipa 
rule,  witl 
great  pow 
is  perfect 
wJierc  eve 
and  couh 
prescribec 
Escaped 
invisible 
justice, 
delay,  till  | 
pays  his 
views  of 

A  serioj 
bringing  tl 
of  nature  | 
Gospel  ?- 
done.     V'i 
in  their  hnl 


\ 


,m 


r 


.VDORKilXES. 


13C 


rulinillt'd,  in  llio  combinalior?  and  artificial  stniclurc  of  the  language  of 
ri  i^oplc  of  such  cxtrcmo  fiiniplicily  of  thought, 

\\c  profess  to  knew  little  of  the  origin  of  tliese  languages.  We  suspect, 
iliat  a  life  might  be  spont  in  studying  them  in  the  closet  to  very  little  pur- 
popi..  The  savages  vary  their  meaning  by  the  accent  and  intonation,  which 
they  gi\'i  their  words,  still  more  than  the  French.  Wo  fear,  that  a  printed 
pngc  of  Indian  words,  most  carefully  and  accurately  noted  by  the  marks  of 
accent  and  sou.^d  in  our  dictionaries,  could  hardly  be  read  by  an  unpractised 
American  so  fis  'o  be  intelligible  to  the  Indian,  whose  language  they 
purport  to  be.  We  suppose  the  Muskogee  and  Cherokee  to  be  the 
patriarchel  dialects  cf  the  south;  the  Chippeway  and  Dacota,  of  the 
Indians  of  the  lakes  and  the  upper  Mississippi;  and  the  Osage  and 
Pawnee,  of  the  Savages  of  Missouri,  Arkansas  and  Red  river.  We  should 
not  forget,  that  they  lavc  a  language  of  signs, — the  Latin,  or  common 
language,  by  which  all  the  tribes  converse  with  each  other.  It  is  a  trito 
maxim,  that  necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention;  and  it  is  inconceivable, 
except  by  those  who  have  witnessed  it,  how  copious  and  expressive  a 
language  they  have  formed  with  signs.  In  Long's  first  expedition  a  full 
and  accurate  vocabulary  of  this  language  is  given. 

After  all,  that,  which  has  struck  us  in  contemplating  the  Indians  with 
the  most  astonishment  and  admiration,  is  the  invisible  but  universal 
energy  of  the  operation  and  influence  of  an  inexplicable  law,  which  has, 
where  it  operates,  a  more  certain  ^.nd  controlling  power,  than  all  the 
municipal  and  written 'laws  of  the  whites  united.  There  is  despotic 
rule,  without  any  hereditary  or  elected  chief  There  are  chiefs  with 
great  power,  who  cannot  tell  when,  where,  or  how  they  became  such .  There 
is  perfect  unanimity  in  a  question  involving  the  existence  of  a  tribe, 
where  every  member  belonged  to  the  wild  and  fierce  democracy  of  nature, 
and  could  dissent,  without  giving  a  reason.  A  case  occurs,  where  it  is 
prescribed  by  custom,  that  an  individual  should  be  punished  with  death. 
Escaped  far  from  the  control  of  his  tribe,  and  as  free  as  the  winds,  this 
invisible  tie  is  about  him ;  and  he  returns,  and  surrenders  himself  to 
justice.  His  accounts  are  not  settled,  and  he  is  in  debt;  he  requests 
delay,  till  he  shall  have  accomplished  his  summer's  hunt.  He  finishes  it, 
pays  his  debt,  and  dies  with  a  constancy,  which  has  always  been,  in  all 
views  of  Indian  character,  the  theme  of  admiration. 

A  serious  question  occurs  in  conclusion.  What  is  the  prospect  of 
bringing  to  these  rugged  and  comfortless  beings,  apparently  the  outcasts 
of  nature  and  civilization,  the  moulding,  the  guidance  and  hopes  of  the 
Gospel? — The  gloomy  fact  must  be  admitted,  that  but  little  has  yet  ijcen 
done.  Pious  and  devoted  Catholic  missionaries  have  carried  their  lives 
in  their  hands,  have  renounced  all  earthly  liopcs,  and  have  lived  and  died 


-'■ST 


V2(\ 


mssKsivvi  vAi,i,i;v- 


ninonuf  tliom,  lo  cany  llicin  llu;  jL'osiicI.  Tlio  I'ldlt  sinnt.s  liavc  not  l)con 
beliiiul  llicin  in  tliesir  labors  of  lov(\  Mut  nlllor  llic  lapse  of  iiion;  lliati  ;i 
contury,  scarrcly  an  adult  navaffc  can  Ik;  Ibund,  W(>st  of  (lie  Mississippi, 
wIk»  will  proiionncL'  liimsclf  a  Clirislian,  'riicn;  an;  n»any,  tlial  Ikiv(; 
crosses  suspciuliMl  from  llicir  necks,  wliicli  llicy  show,  as  (licy  do  llicir 
medals.  They  seem  lo  think,  (iiat  llio  profession  t)f  Cluistianily  t^ives 
fliem  additional  claims  upon  us.  While  we  wcro  writiufr,  some  Appala- 
cliy  Indians  applied  to  the  iud<.'e  of  the  district,  where;  we  resided,  for 
redress.  They  sp(»ko  of  tlio  alle<fed  outra<,fe  in  tt.'rms  of  indi<fiiant 
feeling.  ^ Aoiifi  somiiu's  futpfiscs,''  we  have  been  baptiseil,  said  they; 
and  apjHMred  to  I'eel,  as  if  this  <i[ave  the  oulra<fea  <j;reater  enormity.  We 
arc  sure,  that  if  any  cll'ort  can  have  marks  of  moral  heroism,  and  noble- 
ness of  self-devotion  beyond  another,  tlie  self-devotion  of  missionaries 
nniong  the  savaj^es  is  the  noblest  of  all.  Surely,  if  any  men  merit  earnest 
wishes  and  prayers  for  their  success,  it  inust  be  those  nu>n,  who  have 
left  the  precincts  of  every  tliin;j!',  that  is  desirable  in  life,  to  ^'o  into  thest; 
solitudes,  and  take  in  hand,  those  tmiformed  children  of  nature. 

There  arc  some  circumstances,  wliich  invest  the  present  missionary 
cilbrls  with  stronger  probal)ilities  of  success,  than  any,  that  have  preceiliil 
them.  The  number  of  Indians,  that  are  lialf  breeds,  or  mixtures  of  tlio 
blood  of  the  wiiites,  is  fj;reat,  and  continually  incr(>asiuif.  Tlu'so  j>encr- 
ally  espouse,  either  from  convictitwi,  or  from  i)arty  feelinij,  the  inleresi 
of  civilization  and  Christianity.  It  is  more  universally,  than  it  once 
was,  a  conviction,  that  Christianity  is  the  religicrti  of  social  and  civili/cd 
man.  Instead  of  relyin<f  nuich  on  the  hope  of  the  conversion  of  adult 
hunting  and  warrior  savages,  the  ellort  is  chielly  directed  towards  the 
young.  Schools,  the  loom,  the  anvil,  the  i)louii;h,  are  sent  to  them. 
Amidst  the  condbrt,  stability  and  plenty  of  cultivation,  they  are  to  ho 
imbued  with  a  tasto  for  our  institutions,  arts,  industry  and  religion,  at 
Ihc  same  time. — Every  benevolent  man  will  wish  these  ellorts  of  benevo 
Icncc  all  possible  success. 

Monuments.  The  tumuli,  or  mounds  of  the  western  country,  an; 
first  seen  on  the  southern  shores  of  lake  J'lrie.  ^Ve  trace  them  througli 
the  western  parts  of  New  York.  W'c  find  them  increasing  in  numbers 
and  size  in  the  state  of  Ohio.  They  are  i^ccn  thence,  with  more  or  less 
frequency,  over  all  tiie  valley;  and  from  Humboldt  we  learn,  that  mouiuls 
of  a  similar  ciiaractcr  abound  in  Mexico.  If  .so  much  had  not  been 
alivady  written  upon  the  subjcxt,,  we  should  hold  it  idle  to  detain  tiic 
reader  a  moment,  in  useless  dissertation  upon  the  (incstion,  by  whom 
these  mounds  were  I'ornicd,  and  Ibr  what  purposes?  As  every  opinioi! 
on  the  point  must  rest  entirely  upon  conjecture,  without  the  slightopi 


ration 

such  ( 

(he  III! 

pies,  < 

lli(!  his 

^1 

human 

full  of 
in  batt 

confus 

7'iio  bo 

1 

exp('ct( 

i 

Tiu!  iiu 

.. 

be  expo 

1 

rxhibiti 

forms,  c 

i 

in  the  f. 

1 

lh(^  .S(|ii;i 

1  J 

after  (li(> 

■   '! 

on  the  A 

i 

Some 

V 

They  arc 

i 

vial  j>raii 

'■* 

The  in  OS 

... 

<lio  most 

1  * 

The  a])pc! 

1 

of  rich  a 

I 

l:ivorabl(! 

f 

(lisciedil! 

Indians, 

could  hv 

"1 

present  r 

■>) 

tl  K'ir  (lea 

fei^ 

VV(?  have 
ihc  men  ( 

i^ 

iinprovcid 

M 

once,  lies 

m 

were  not 

reference 

and  simil 

artificial  ( 

valley,  as 

u 

entrance 

t. 


MOM  mi:nts. 


\il 


inlry,  an; 
ill  throiigli 

niunbcvrf 
i)rc  or  less 
xi  mouiulu 

not  l)oon 
detain  I  lie 

by  wlumi 
ry  opinioi' 


vatioiial  clcniciil,  on  wliicli  lo  round  if,  wo  sliidl  discover  ill  onco,  fliat 
Midi  dirtsorliilions  could  llirow  no  rcrlain  \\\sh\  «  n  tlio  siibjccl.  VVIullwir 
till!  mass  of  llicm  was  conslrnclcd  for  forlilicatiinis,  ohsrrvalorics,  Ivm- 
|)|{>s,  or  loinlts,  if  is  Ii»)|K'I(\'^s  (o  ciKiniro.  That  somo  of  iIumii  scTvcd  for 
dio  last  |)nr|)os<s  \\v  liavo  llic  concliisivj^  cvidcnco,  lliat  flicy  abound  in 
bniiian  bonrs.  If  has  boon  offon  asserted,  that  some  of  fhe  inonnds  arc; 
lull  of  bones,  lliat  are  i)(Mloiafed,as  llioti'.'h  the  liviiij,'  subjects  were  slain 
in  battle;  and  that  the  sivelelons  are  lioa|M'd  l()i;etlier  in  proniisenona 
eonfiision,  as  if  bnried  after  a  eonlli«t,  wiliiont  order  or  airanj,M!m<Mil, 
TJic  bones,  which  W(>  have  seen,  were  such,  and  soarran<j[ed,  as  inii^rhi  |,o 
expected  in  the  eoinnion  pro<'(>ss  of  solemn  and  deliberate  inhnination. 
The  mounds  show  no  more  art,  th(ni;fh  infmilely  more  labor,  than  nji;,dit 
bo  expected  from  the  present  Indians.  They  aronjero  erections  of  earth, 
e\hibitin<r  no  other  tracer  of  skill,  than  that  most  of  them  an;  of  r<!<:,'iilar 
forms,  contained  under  circular  (>r  ri^^lif  lines.  Iron  tools  yjvw.  not  ns(Ml 
in  the  formation  of  them.  Sloiu^  makes  no  part  of  them.  Yot  many  of 
fhe  scjiiares  and  parallelo,i,M'ams  make  a  much  more  conspicnouH  (i^Mire, 
after  the  lapse  of  unknown  aifcs,  than  fhe  dcfonces  of  earth,  thrown  up 
on  the  Atlantic,  shore,  diirini!;  fhe  revolutionary  war. 

?5ome  of  them  aro  said  to  be  found  on  hills.  Wc  have  seen  none  such. 
They  are  jifenerally  on  ferfih;  wooded  bottoms,  plains,  or  the  riclusr  allu- 
vial ])rairies,  where  wild  fruits,  \i\\\\\o  and  fi.sli  an;  abuiHlant  and  at  hand. 
The  most  dense  ancient  population  e.xisted  precisely  in  the  places  whero 
fhe  most  crowded  future  population  will  e.xi.st  in  flu;  ^'en(;rations  to  come 
The  ai)pearance  of  a  series  of  mounds  ^renerally  indicates  the  eonti;,Miify 
of  rich  and  level  lands,  easy  communications,  lish,  ^'anu;,  and  the  most 
favorable  adjacent  positions.  'J'he  only  circumstance,  which  stronj^dy 
discredits  fh(>ir  havin<f  been  fornu^d  by  fhe  progenitors  of  the  present 
Indians,  is  the  imnuMisily  of  the  size  of  some  of  them,  Ixiyond  wliat 
con  Id  be  expected  from  the  sparse  po|)ulution  and  fhe  indolence  of  fhe 
])resent  race.  W^^  know  of  no  monuments,  which  they  now  raise  for 
their  dead,  that  mi;^lif  not  be  the  work  of  a  fiiw  people  in  a  few  days. 
We  have  seen  nioniuls,  which  would  re(|niie  fhi;  labor  of  a  thon.sand  of 
flic  men  employed  on  our  canals,  with  all  th(!ir  mechanical  aids,  and  the 
improved  imi)lements  of  their  labor  for  months.  Wo  liavc,  more  than 
once,  hesitated  in  view  of  one  of  these;  |)rodi<,dons  inonnds,  wliethcr  it 
were  not  really  a  natural  hill.  But  they  ar(;  nniforndy  so  placed,  in 
reference  to  the  a(ljoinin<,'  country,  and  their  conformation  is  so  nnicpic 
and  similar,  that  no  eye  hesitates  Xow^  in  referring  tlicm  to  the  class  of 
artificial  erections.  The  largest,  tliat  has  been  discovered  in  fhe  Ohio 
valley,  as  far  as  we  know,  is  in  the  bottom  of  (irave  creek,  near  its 
entrance  into  the  Ohio,  and  fourteen  mili;.s  below  VVheeliiig.  It  is  between 


%l 


I 


hVv. 


H 


:-'l-v 


V2S 


Missiiasirri  vallkv. 


tliirly  niul  f<n(y  rods  in  circumference  at  its  hafc,  with  a  proiK)rtion;ilM 
diameter.  It  is  seventy  feet  in  perpendicular  Ijciglit ;  and  lias  a  table 
area  on  its  sunuiiil,  which  is  sixty  feet  in  diameter,  in  the  centre  of  which 
is  a  great  and  rcgidar  concavity.  A  single  while  oak  rises  from  this 
concavity,  like  a  (lug  stall'. 

The  most  numerous  group  of  mounds,  that  wc  have  seen,  is  near 
Cahokia,  in  the  American  bottom.  There  arc  said  to  be  two  hundred 
in  all.  The  largest  is  on  the  banks  of  Cahokia  creek.  Its  form  is  that 
of  a  parallelogram.  Its  circumference  is  connnonly  given  at  eight 
Inindred  yards,  and  its  height  at  ninety  feet.  There  is  a  terrace  on  the 
south  side  of  it.  The  monks  of  La  Trappe  had  a  nioaastery  adjoining 
it,  and  their  garden  was  on  the  terrace.  They  cultivated  the  mound. 
The  earth  could  not  have  furnished  them  a  place,  more  in  kce]>ing  with 
their  profession  and  avowed  objects.  In  the  midst  of  the  American 
bottom,  perhaps  the  most  fertile  spot  on  the  globe,  exerting  its  exhaust- 
less  fertility  only  in  the  production  of  dense  forest,  or  a  useless  luxuriance 
of  weeds  and  flowers,  all  in  view  of  their  dwelling  is  a  solitary  prairie. 
A  few  dreaming  men,  vowed  to  perpetual  silence,  apparently  belonging 
more  to  another  world,  than  this,  seat  themselves  on  one  of  those  lonely 
and  inexplicable  monuments  of  generations,  that  arc  now  no  more,  in 
the  midst  of  gigantic  weeds,  gaudy  flowers,  and  rank  grass. — No  noise 
disturbs  them,  by  day  or  night,  but  the  chirjung  of  the  grasshopper,  or 
the  cry  of  wolves,  or  the  hooting  of  owls. 

There  arc  very  interesting  mounds  near  St.  i.ouis,  a  little  north  of  the 
town.  Some  of  them  have  the  aspect  of  enormous  stacks.  That  one 
of  them,  called  the  '  falling  garden,'  is  generally  pointed  out,  as  a  great 
curiosity. — One  of  these  mounds,  and  it  was  a  very  striking  one,  was 
levelled  in  the  centre  of  Chillicothe.  In  digging  it  down,  it  is  said, 
there  were  removed  cart  loads  of  human  bones.  The  town  of  Circlcville, 
in  Ohio,  is  principally  laid  out  within  the  limits  of  a  couple  of  contigu- 
ous mounds,-  the  one  circular,  the  other  square.  The  town  has  its  name 
from  its  position,  chiefly  in  the  circular  mound.  In  this,  and  in  many 
other  mounds,  the  singular  circumstance  is  said  to  exist,  and  by  people, 
who  live  near  them,  and  ought  to  know  that,  of  which  they  aflirm,  tjiat 
the  earth,  of  which  they  are  composed,  is  entirely  distinct  from  that  in 
the  vicinity.  It  is  of  no  avail  to  enquire,  why  the  budders  should  have 
encountered  the  immense  toil,  to  bring  these  hills  of  cartli  from  another 
place  ? 

Our  country  has  been  described  abroad,  as  sterile  of  moral  intcrtvi 
VVc  have,  it  is  said,  no  mommicnts,  no  ruins,  none  of  the  colossal  rcinaiii.-i 
of  temples,  and  baronial  castle.^,  and  monkish  towers;  nothing  to  conned 
the  imagination  and  the  heart  with  the  pastj  none  of  the  dim  rccollcc 


,   «■: 


roi'ULATION. 


129 


is  near 
lUndrcd 
I  is  thai 
tt  eijilil 
)  on  the 
Ijoinint:; 

inouiKl 
hi<^  with 
Liiiericau 
cxhaust- 
xuriiincc 
f  piairic. 
)elongin<]; 
sc  lonely 

more,  in 
No  noise 
lioppcr,  or 

rth  of  the 
That  one 
as  a  great 

one,  was 
it  is  said, 

irclcville, 

f  contigu- 

as  its  name 

J  in  many 

by  people, 

llirni,  that 
om  that  ill 

lould  have 
om  another 

ral  intere:^! 
;sal  rcmuiiK 
r  to  connect 
inr  rccollcc 


i 


lions  of  limes  f^oiic  hy,  to  ■'issnciatc!  thu  [Kist  with  the  future.  Wo  have 
not  travcHed  in  other  hiiuls.  Ihit  in  pnssitif,' over  our  vast  prairies,  in 
viewing  our  nohl(j  and  ancient  loicst!^',  planted  l)y  nature,  and  nurtured 
only  hy  a'^'cs;  when  we  liavo  seen  the  sun  risin<,'  over  a  boundless  plain, 
where  the  blue  of  (he  heavens  in  nil  directions  touched,  and  mingled 
witli  the  verdure  of  the  (Iowim'h;  when  our  thoujj;hts  have  traversed  rivers 
of  a  thousand  leagues  in  length;  when  wc  have  seen^lio ascending  steam 
boat  breasting  the  surge,  and  gk-aniing  through  the  verdure  of  the  trees; 
when  wc  have  iniagined  the  h.ippy  multitudes,  that  from  these  shores 
will  contemplate  this  scenery  in  d;iys  to  come;  wc  have  thought,  that 
our  great  country  miglit  at  least  compare  with  any  other,  in  the  beauty  of 
its  natural  scenery.  AVJien,  on  an  uninhabited  prairie,  wc  have  fallen  at 
nightfall  upon  a  group  of  these  mounds,  and  have  thought  of  the  masses 
of  human  bones,  that  moulder  heneath;  when  the  .heart  and  the  imagin- 
ation evoke  the  busy  multitudes,  that  here 'strutted  through  life's  poor 
play,'  and  ask  the  jjliantoms  who  and  what  they  were,  and  why  they  have 
loft  no  memorials,  but  these  mounds;  we  have  found  ample  scope  for 
reflections  and  associations  of  the  past  with  the  future.  We  should  not 
iiighly  estimate  the  mind,  or  the  heart  of  the  man,  who  could  behold  these 
tombs  of  the  prairies  without  deep  thought. 

These  regions  bear  ample  testimonials  of  another  sort,  of  a  World 
gone  by.  Beside  the  human  skeletons,  found  in  the  nitre  caves,  and  at 
the  Maramec,  of  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  in  another  place) 
diere  are  found  at  the  licks,  and,  as  luibitaney  and  cultivation  bring  us 
more  acquainted  with  what  is  concealed  beneath  the  soil,  over  all  the 
valley,  masses  of  bones  of  animals  of  enormous  size,  to  which  the  name 
of  mammotli  and  megalonyx  have  been  given.  A  ship's  cargo  could 
easily  be  furnished. — The  bones  of  animals  of  diflercnt  classes,  forms 
and  sizes,  from  any  that  are  now  known  to  exist,  and  different,  too,  from 
the  mammoth,  are  discovered  in  the  same  places  with  these  huge  remains. 
While  we  are  writing,  they  are  exhibiting  at  Now  Orleans  the  bones  of 
an  animal,  to  which  the  mammoth  itself  must  have  been  a  pigmy,  found 
near  Plaquemine,  on  the  Mississippi,  below  that  city. — They  have  been 
iisserted,  and  denied  to  be  the  bones  of  a  whale.  A  diligent  and  unwea- 
ried antiquarian,  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  ailirms,  that  he  has  discovered,  in 
laying  open  the  earth  in  his  geological  examinations,  the  wood  and  the 
leaves  of  the  bread-fruit  tree,  and  other  vegetable  tropical  remains. 
Whatever  credit  this  opinion  may  receive,  all  admit,  that  every  part  of 
the  Mississijjpi  valley  is  marked  with  monuments  of  immense  and  inex- 
plicable changes  in  the  natural  world,  and  of  races  of  animals  and  men« 
that  are  now  no  more. 


17 


^S 


MM 


ii'>-'i 


^^^m 


4'.^^ 


:!^^'M 


Mt'l    'r'l 


liiiii 


ino 


MisMifisirri  vAi.i,i:v. 


Prksevt  Pori'f.iTrox.  Tlio  pro^/rrss  ol'  tin*  |n)piil:ition  of  fliJM  cnmi- 
try,  tiH  every  <>iit>  kiunvH,  is  witlimil  any  ('\aiii|)l(f  or  panilli'l  in  llic  ri>i-iM(||i 
of  ollior  colonicH,  ill  aiicinit  or  iiindi'in  litiit>s;  not  t'\co|itiii/^r  even  lli(> 
nniials  of  tliu  adviiiicnni'iil  of  llif  Allaiilic  citiiiilry.  \Vc<mii  rniH'inlicr, 
wlion  all  this  ooiinlry,  cxtci)!  llif  ancient  Krencli  i-olonics  in  it,  wmh  iin 
uiiktiowii  and  nn|tr()|tled  wildtTiu'Ss.  'I'lic  tirst  settlers  oiieonnlered 
JricrtHlihlo  hardships  and  diinj^'eis.  Hut  <inly  open  heloro  AnierieiiiiH  u 
fcrtilo  Hoil  aiitl  i\  niihl  chinate,  and  their  nativt;  enterprise,  fostiired  hy 
the  stiinnlaiit  etl'eet  of  freedom  and  iniM  hiws,  will  overeonio  cvtTy  ini- 
podiiniMit.  Sickness,  solilndt;,  nionntains,  tlu^  war  hoop,  tlu!  merciless 
tomahawk,  wolves,  panthers,  and  hears,  dear  and  distant  hounds,  forsiken 
forovor,  will  come  over  their  wakiii},'  lhoii<,dits,  and  revisit  tluiir  (Ireains 
in  vain,  to  jmncnt  the  yonny,  llovid  and  nnporli(»ned  pair  from  scaliii;^ 
remote  mountains,  tieaceiniini,'  hmfr  rivers,  and  finally  mdei'liiifr  their 
spot  ill  the  forests,  consccnitin;,'  their  solitary  cahiii  with  thu  dear  nn<i 
aacrcd  n:inie  of  home. 

Tho  foll()win<,' synoptical  view  will  show,  in  u  few  words,  tlur  (Mtonish- 
ing  lulvance  of  this  iu)|)nlation.  In  171H),  the  population  of  this  valley, 
exclusive  of  tho  country  west  of  tho  Mississippi,  and  of  Florida,  which 
were  not  then  within  <uir  territorisd  limits,  was  estimated  hy  ennmerution, 
atlittle  more  than  KUVOOO.  In  IS(M),  it  was  somethinj,' short  of  .'{N(),(MM). 
In  1810,  it  was  short  of  a  million.  In  IvS'JO,  incliidin;r  the  population 
west  of  tho  Mississippi,  rating  the  population  of  Florida  at  '2t),(M){),  and 
that  of  the  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  includ(!d  in  tliis  valley  at 
300,000,  and  it  will  <rive  the  population  of  1S.>0  at  2,500,000,  The 
pirescnt  population  may  he  rated  at  4,000,000.  It  will  he  perceived  that 
tliis  is  an  increase,  in  more  than  a  duplicate  ratio  in  ten  years. 

Some  considerahlo  allowance  must  he  made,  of  course,  for  tiio  flood 
of  immigration,  which  can  not  loasonahly  he  expected  to  set  tliis  way, 
for  llic  future  as  strongly  as  it  has  for  the  i)>isl.  Ohio,  with  the  largest 
and  most  dense  population  of  any  of  the  western  stales,  has  nearly  douhic 
the  numhcr  of  inhabitants,  hy  the  census  of  IKJO,  which  she  had  by  that 
of  1820. — During  that  interval,  her  gain  by  iminigiation  has  scarcely 
equalled  her  loss  by  emigration;  and,  of  course,  is  simply  that  of  natural 
increase.  In  the  rajHdity  of  this  increase,  we  believe,  this  state  not  only 
exceeds  any  other  in  the  west,  but  in  the  world.  It  is  the  good  naturcd 
jcatof  all,  who  travel  through  the  western  states,  that  however  productive 
in  other  harvests,  they  are  still  more  so  in  an  nne(piallcd  crop  of  flaxen 
hoaded  children;  and  that  'this  is  the  noble  growth  our  realms  supply.* 
We  have  a  million  more  inhabitants,  than  the  ihirtecn  good  old  United 
States,  when  at  tho  commencement  of  tlie  revolutionary  war,  they  threw 


down 
|M»\ver 
Not 
tic  coi 
the  lie 
an   an 
heyoiK 
iiiciea." 
aiiiplo 
tilings, 
llioiigh 
(riiiinpl 
fertile  i 
•  lie  higl 
aged;  ;i 
product 
and  its  ( 
tlieinsel' 
gain,  an 
l)y  Provi 
tlieni,  wi 
tlio  opei 
found  gr 
.sii  fieri  ng 
fives;  ai 
the  coiiiil 
found,  ii 
the  rest, 
sickliesti 
iniilti|)li( 
swarm  inj 
lliat  in  ( 
so(;tion  \\ 
Anotlii 
iIk!  rutin 
lial)itant> 
laborers 
oils,  or  1 
range  ofl 
whoso  vi 
who  <4ef 
whose  nj 


I'OI'II.XTION. 


\'.\\ 


i 


(luwii  tli«>  <r:iiiiitli  I  ill   llic  ri(i>  of  tli<>  inrciit  <(iiiiiliy,  lluii  llii>  most 
IMtwciriil  cininif  oil  tin?  ^lol««. 

Niilwillisliiiifl'  ••'  llio  iiiiprossioii,  HO  m'licnilly  rnlrrt;iiin'<|  in  llu^  Allnii- 
tic  coiitilry,  llint  iliiH  valloy  is  tiiiivctHiilly  iiiili(Mllliy,  iiihI  iMitwilliHlaiKliiiK 
lli(<  M(!ccH.siiry  iiiliiiission,  thai  i'cvcr  niid  a^iu!  is  pn^valriit  to  a  iirvnt  iiiid 
an   aniioyiii;,'   ''-yrcr,  llin   Hliihlmru   faclM,  iibovo   utalcil,  ilctnoiiHlriik', 
boyoiid  iill  |)))^.^   >ility  of  tiriiiul,  llial  no  coiiiilry  is  more  i>ni|iiliouH  lu 
inrntasc  liy  iiainral  population.     Wherever  the  means  of  (lasy,  i'rtio  and 
aiiiph!  KnhMHlencc!  iiro  provi(h>(l,  it  is  in  the  nature  and  onh^r  of  liimiaii 
thin<rs,  that  population  should   increaso  rapidly.     In  hiicIi  ii  country, 
lliou^'h  soMK^  |)arts  of  it  should  prove  sicMy,  pcrsc^vcranre  will  nltitnately 
Iriiinipli  over  (iv(!n  this  inipediineiit,  tlu^  most  formidabh;  of  all.     In  that 
fertile  region,  ior  tlio  insalnhrioiis  districts  am  almost  invariahly  tlioso  of 
the  hi^'hest  fertility,  immigrants  will  arrive,  heronu!  sickly,  and  discour- 
aged; and,  p<'rhaps,  r«;turn  with  an  evil  rejtort  of  tin;  country.     In  tJK? 
productive  and  sickly  sections  of  tlie  uoiitli,  allured  l>y  its  rich  jirodiicts, 
aixl  its  exemption  from  winter,  adventurers  will  Hiiccessivoly  arrive,  fix 
tliemsj'lves,  hecomc;   sitkly,  and  it  may  he,  die.     ()tli(;rs,    lusting    for 
gain,  and  with  that  reckk'ssntss  to  the  future,  for  wise  ends  awarded  na 
hy  l*rovi«lence,  and  undismayed  l»y  the  fate  of  those,  who  have  preceded 
them,  will  replace  them.    By  culture,  draining,  the  fe(!ding  of  cattle,  and 
the  op(>ning  the  country  to  th(!  f<;ver-hanishiiig  l»rf!C/e,  the  utmosj>liere  itf 
found  gradually  to  mc^liorato.    The  iidiahitants,  taught  hy  exp(!ri(!nco  and 
snllering,  come  hy  degrees  to  hiarn  the  climate,  tlio  <liseas(!S,  and  preven- 
tives,- and  a  race  will  finally  stand,  which  will  possess  tlio  adaptation  to 
the  country,  which  results  from  acclimation:  and  even  these  sections  aro 
found,  in  time,  to  liavc  a  (legnje  of  natural  increase  of  ]>opnlation  with 
the  rest.     Such  has  i)rov(;d  to  lie  the  steady  advance  of  things  in  tlio 
sickliest  points  of  the  south.  The  rapidity  of  onr  increase  in  nnmhors 
multiplies  the  dilficnllies  of  subsistence,  and  stimulates  and  sharpens  tlio 
swarming  ficulties  and  propensities  in  the  i)arcnt  hive,  and  will  cause, 
that  in  <hi«'  lapse  of  time  and  progress  of  things,  every  fertile  quarter 
section  in  tliis  valley  will  sustain  its  family. 

Another  pleasant  circumstance  appended  to  this  view  is,  that  almost 
the  entire  population  of  the  valley  arc  cultivators  of  the  soil.  The  in- 
habitants of  crowded  towns  and  villages,  the  numerous  artizans  and 
laborers  in  manufactories,  can  neither  be,  as  a  mass,  .so  healthy,  so  virtu- 
ous, or  happy,  as  free  cultivators  of  the  soil.  The  man,  whose  daily 
range  of  prospect  is  dusty  streets,  or  smoky  and  <lead  brick  walls,  and 
whose  views  become  limited  by  habit  to  the  enclosure  of  these  walls; 
who  liepcnds  for  his  subsistence  on  the  daily  stipplies  of  the  market;  and 
whose  motives  to  action  arc  elicited  by  constant  and  hourly  struggle 


m 


^ita 


132 


Mississirn  valley. 


i    * 


and  comiK}tilion  with  his  follows;  will  havotlic  advantage  in  some  jwinl;* 
over  Ukj  secluded  tenant  of  a  cabin,  or  a  farm  house.  Bui  still,  takinir 
every  thing  into  the  calculation,  wo  would  choose  tolx)  the  owner  of  half 
a  section  of  land,  and  daily  contemplate  nature,  as  we  tilled  the  soil, 
aided  in  that  primitive  and  noble  employment  by  our  own  vigorous  chil- 
dren. The  dweller  in  towns  and  villages  may  have  more  of  the  air  and 
tone  of  society,  and  his  daughters  may  k(;ep  nearer  to  the  changes  of 
the  fashions.  But  wo  have  little  doubt,  that,  in  striking  the  balance  of 
enjoyment, 'the  latter  will  be  found  to  be  the  happier  man,  and  more 
likely  to  have  a  numerous  and  healthy  family.  The  people  of  the  West, 
with  very  small  deductions,  are  cidtivators  of  the  soil.  All,  that  are 
neither  idle,  nor  unable  to  labor,  have  a  rural  abundance  of  the  articles 
which  the  soil  can  furnish,  far  beyond  the  needs  of  the  country;  and  it  is 
one  of  our  most  prevalent  complaints,  that  this  abundance  is  far  beyond 
the  chances  of  profitable  sale. 

Ohio,  has,  palpably,  more  of  the  northern  proixmsity  to  form  villages, 
and  condense  population,  than  anyother  of  the  western  states.  Of  course, 
her  people  have  a  readier  aptitude  for  an  artizan's  life,  and  a  manufac- 
turer's condition.  We  suppose,  that  at  least  half  the  manufacturers 
of  the  West  inhabit  the  region,  of  which  Pittsburgh  and  the  state  of  Ohio 
are  the  centre.  Her  sons,  too,  have  the  New  England  aspiration  to  be- 
come scholars,  and  professional  men,  and  merchants  and  traders.  Ken- 
tucky and  Ohio  send  abroad  their  circulating  phalanxes  of  this  kind  of 
foragers,  to  compete  with  the  Yankees  for  the  professions  and  trade  of 
the  more  western  states.  In  Ohio  this  class  bears  by  far  the  greatest 
proportion  to  the  cultivators,  of  any  part  of  the  valley.  Yet  in  Ohio, 
from  the  returns  of  the  very  accurate  census  of  1820  it  appears,  that 
out  of  a  population  of  nearly  600,000,  there  were  only  18,9.50  manu- 
facturers, and  1,459  merchants  and  traders.  Thus  it  appears,  that  nearly 
twenty-nine  out  of  thirty  of  this  whole  population  were  engaged  in 
agriculture. 

It  would  require  a  separate  and  distinct  article,  if  we  were  to  trace  the 
influence  of  slavery  upon  population  and  improvement.  This  discussion 
too,  would  more  properly  fall  under  the  head  of  an  article,  presenting  a 
contrasted  view  of  the  condition  and  progress  of  the  slave  holding, 
comparing  with  tho  non-slavo  holding  states.  It  is  sufficient  for  our 
present  purposes  to  remark,  that  with  the  exception  of  some  districts 
that  are  particularly  sickly,  the  blacks  increase  still  more  rapidly  than 
tlie  whites, 

From  the  general  fertility  of  tlic  soil,  and  the  abundance  with  which  it 
yields  all  the  supplies  of  life;  from  the  comparative  rareness  and  small 
projwrtion  of  sterile,  mountainous  and  marshy  lands,  that  can  not  be  easily 


I 


to  its  po] 
Noon 
is  not  fai 
try  will  I 
[lation,  t( 
will  tlien 
noble  roa 
and  Che£ 
more  and 
the  first 
country,  i 
us,  as  we 
tures  to 
and  earn( 
ourselves 
and  cast 
moral  chr 
U)  tliat  K 


mmi 


■pn>M 


POPULATION. 


133 


)oint;-* 

r  half 
c  soil, 
s  chil- 
lir  and 
igcs  of 
ince  of 
I  move 

5  West, 

hat  are 

articles 

ind  it  is 

heyond 


trace  the 
iliscussiou 
csenting  a 
holding, 
nt  for  our 
e  districts 

pidly  than 

th  which  it 
and  small 
ot  be  easily 


hrouffjit  into  ^ci^tivation ;  no  thinking  mind  can  have  failed  to  foresee, 
iliat  this  country  must  and  will  ultimately  sustain  a  great  and  dense  pop- 
ulation of  farmer?.  Taking  into  view  soil,  climate,  and  tlio  means  of 
easy  communication,  the  most  material  and  natural  elements  upon  which 
to  calculate,  in  regard  to  future  increase  of  population,  and  no  country 
can  be  found,  which  invites  increase  more  strongly,  than  ours.  In  half 
a  century,  the  settled  parts  of  it  will,  probably,  have  become  as  healthy 
as  any  other  country.  In  that  lapse  of  time,  it  can  hardly  be  sanguine 
to  calculate,  that  by  improving  the  navigation  of  the  existing  rivers,  by 
the  numerous  canals  which  will  bo  made,  in  aid  of  what  nature  has 
already  dope,  in  a  region  where  there  arc  no  mountains,  and  few  high 
liills,  and  no  intermixture  of  refractory  granite;  where  the  rivers,  which 
risd-djmost  in  the  same  level,  interlock,  and  then  wind  away  in  opposite 
directions;  where,  from  these  circumstances,  and  the  absence  of  granite 
hills,  canals  can  be  made  with  comparative  ease;  that  the  country  will 
be  permeated  in  every  direction,  either  by  steam  boats,  or  sea  vessels 
lowed  by  them,  or  by  transport  conducted  by  rail-road  [)owcf.  No  coun- 
try, it  is  generally  supposed  here,  can  be  found,  which  contains  so  great 
a  proportion  of  cultivable  and  habitable  land,  compared  with  the  whole 
extent  of  its  surface. — Humboldt,  so  well  qualified  to  judge  by  compari- 
son, has  pronounced  it  the  largest  valley  in  the  world.  It  has  a  less  pro- 
portion of  swamps,  sterile  plains,  and  uncultivable  mountains,  than  any 
other  region  of  the  same  extent. — When  it  shall  have  been  inhabited  as 
long  as  Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  what  limits  can  imagination  assign 
to  its  population  and  improvement  ? 

No  one  can  fail  to  have&reseen,  at  this  time  of  the  day,  that  the  period 
is  not  far  distant,  when  the  greater  mass  of  the  population  of  our  coun- 
try will  be  on  this  side  the  mountains.  We  would  not  desire,  in  antici- 
pation, to  vex  the  question,  where  the  centre  of  our  national  government 
will  then  be?  We  are  connected  already  with  the  Atlantic  country  by 
noble  roads.  We  shall  shortly  be  connected  with  the  Hudson,  Delaware 
and  Chesapeake  bays,  by  navigable  canals.  A  rail-road  between  Balti- 
more and  the  Ohio  is  in  rapid  progress,  and  thousands  have  travelled  on 
the  first  completed  section.  Our  different  physical  conforniation  of 
country,  and  the  moral  circumstances  of  our  condition,  have  aligned  to 
us,  as  we  tliink,  agriculture,  as  our  chief  pursuit.  Suppose  manufac- 
tures to  flourish  among  us  to  the  utmost  extent,  which  our  most  honest 
and  earnest  patriots  could  desire,  and  we  should  still,  as  we  think,  find 
ourselves  bound  by  the  ties  of  a  thousand  wants,  to  the  coaitry  north 
and  east  of  tl«3  mountains.  The  very  difference  of  our  pliysical  and 
moral  character  contributes  to  form  a  chain  of  mutual  wants,  holding  us 
to  tliat  region  by  the  indissoluble  tic  of  mutual  interest.    At  present, 


131 


MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY. 


*;" 


r» 


llie  passajDje  of  llie  mountains,  formerly  estimated  by  tlic  Atlantic  people 
something  like  an  India  voyage,  and  not  without  its  dangers,  as  well  as 
its  diificulties,  is  no  more,  than  a  trip  of  pleasure  of  two  or  three  days. 
We  shall  soon  be  able  to  sail,  at  the  writing  desk,  or  asleep,  from  New 
Orleans,  Fort  Mandan,  or  Prairie  du  Chien,  through  the  interior  forests 
to  tlie  beautiful  bay  of  New  York.  The  time  is  not  distant,  when  the 
travelled  citizens  of  the  otlier  side  the  mountains  will  not  be  willing  to 
admit,  that  he  has  not  taken  an  autumnal  or  vernal  trip  of  pleasure,  or 
observation,  from  Pittsburgh  to  New  Orleans.  The  landscape  painter 
and  the  poet  will  come  among  us,  to  study  and  admire  our  forest,  river 
and  prairie  scenery,  and  to  imbibe  new  ideas,  from  contemplating  the 
grandeur  and  the  freshness  of  our  nature. 

For  us,  as  a  people,  we  look  over  the  mountains,  and  connect  our 
affections  with  the  parent  country  beyond,  by  the  strong  ties  of  natal 
attachment;  for  there,  to  the  passing  generation  at  least,  was  the  place 
of  their  birth.    There  still  live  our  fathers  and  our  brethren.     There  arc 
the  graves  of  our  ancestors ;  and  there  are  all  the  delightful  and  never 
forgotten  remembrances  of  our  infancy  and  our  boyhood.    We  have 
hitherto  been  connected  to  that  country,  by  looking  to  it  exclusively  for 
fashions,  models  and  literature.    The  connexion  will  remain,  not  as  we 
hope,  a  slavish  one ;  for  duty,  interest  and  self-respect  imperiously  call 
upon  us  to  set  up  for  ourselves,  in  these  respects,  as  fast  as  possible. 
But  as  younger  members  of  the  family,  thrust  into  the  woods,  to  give 
place  to  those,  who  had  the  rights  of  primogeniture,  and  obliged  to  find 
our  subsistence  by  cutting  down  the  trees,  we  have  as  yet  had  but  little 
leisure  to  think  of  any  thing,  beyond  the  calls  of  necessity,  and  the  cal- 
culations of  immediate  interest  and  utility.    As  soon  as  we  have  the 
leisure  for  higher  purposes,  we  shall  be  unworthy  of  our  family  alliance, 
if  we  do  not  immediately  institute  a  friendly  rivalry  in  these  respects, 
which  vill  be  equally  honorable  and  useful  for  each  of  the  parties.    Wc 
know  our  rights,  and  we  are  able  to  maintain  them.    It  is  only  the  little 
minded  and  puny,  that  allow  themselves  to  indulge  in  a  causeless  and 
fretful  jealousy.    There  must  be  a  real,  palpable  and  continued  purpose 
to  undenaluc  us,  and  curtail  our  rights,  and  arrest  our  advancement  and 
prosperity,  before  we  would  allow  ourselves  to  remember  our  great  ciiain 
of  mountains,  and  our  world  by  itself.    Our  patriotism  has  been  tam- 
pered witi,  more  than  once,  even  in  our  infancy.    We  came  forth  wilii 
honor  from  every  trial.     Every  link  of  the  golden,  and,  we  hope,  perpet- 
ual chain  of  the  union,  will  be  grasped  as  firmly  by  the  citizens  of  the 
West,  as  of  the  Atlantic.     We  flatter  ourselves,  that  we  have  liad  un- 
common chances  to  note  the  scale  of  the  western  thermometer,  in  this 
respect.    We  have  every  where  seen  and  felt  a  spirit,  whicli  has  given  us 


^'Ut 


p 


NATI0N4L   CIIARACTEH. 


135 


lling  to 
lure,  or 
painter 
st,  river 
ting  the 

lect  our 
of  natal 
he  place 
rhere  arc 
id  never 
We  have 
sivcly  for 
lot  as  wo 
)usly  call 
possible. 
s,  to  give 
3d  to  find 
but  little 
d  the  cal- 

have  the 
^  alliance, 

respects, 
ftics.  Wc 
r  the  little 
seless  and 
id  purpose 
emcnt  and 
treat  chain 
been  tani- 

forth  witli 
pc,  pcrpcl- 
;ens  of  the 
le  had  un- 
itcr,  in  this 
LIS  given  us 


the  asanrancc  of  conviction,  that  the  popularity  of  tliat  demagogue  would 
be  blasted,  and  would  wither  forever,  who  sliould  for  a  moment  manifest 
the  remotest  incipient  wish  to  touch  the  chain  of  tliis  union  with  an  un- 
hallowed hand.  The  interests  and  alFections  of  the  western  j)eople  hold 
to  that,  as  strongly,  and  as  proudly,  to  say  no  more,  as  those  of  the  East. 
From  time  to  time  demagogues  will  spring  up,  and  atrocious  and  unprin- 
cipalled  editors  will  be  found,  to  meditate  any  thing, — and  to  dare  to 
inculcate,  and  write,  and  publish  what  they  meditate.  But  the  strength 
and  virtue  of  the  community  will  never  bear  them  out. 

Wherever  attempts  may  be  made  to  disaffect,  alienate  and  sever 
one  section  of  this  great  union  from  the  rest,  may  God  avert  tho 
omen !  that  attempt  will  not  commence  with  us.  They  may  reproach 
us  with  being  rough,  untrained,  and  backwoods  men.  But  as  a  people 
we  are  strong  for  the  union,  and  the  whole  union.  Every  true  son  of 
the  West  will  join  in  the  holiest  aspirations,  ^csto  perpctua."*  May  it  last 
as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon  shall  endure ! 

National  Charactek  of  the  Western  People.  We  shall  remark 
upon  the  character  of  the  French  part  of  our  population  in  describing 
Louisiana  and  Missouri,  where  the  greater  portion  of  that  people  is  found. 
We  shall  remark  upon  the  distinctive  character  of  Kentu6ky,  in  giving 
the  geography  of  that  state.  We  only  wish  to  catch  here,  if  possible,  the 
slight,  but  perceptible  peculiarities  of  national  character  which  our  pecu- 
liar circumstances  and  condition  have  imposed  upon  us. 

The  people  of  this  valley  are  as  thorough  a  combination  and  mixture 
of  the  people  of  all  nation^;,  characters,  languages,  conditions  and  opin- 
ions, as  can  well  be  imagined.  Scarcely  a  state  in  the  Union,  or  a 
nation  in  Europe,  but  what  has  furnished  us  immigrants.  Philosophers 
and  noblemen  have  visited  us  from  beyond  the  seas;  some  to  study  our 
natural  history,  or  to  contemplate  a  new  people  rising  from  the  freshnesi 
of  nature,  over  the  fertile  ruins  of  a  once  submerged  world ;  or  deluded 
here  by  the  pastoral  dreams  of  Rousseau,  or  Chateaubriand;  or,  in  the 
sample  of  the  savages  to  study  man  in  a  state  of  nature. 

The  much  greater  projjortion  of  the  immigrants  from  Europe  are  of 
the  poorer  classes,  who  come  here  from  hunger,  poverty,  oppression,  and 
the  grinding  vassalage  of  crowded  and  miserable  tenants  of  an  aristocratic 
race,  born  to  the  inheritance  of  the  soil,  and  all  the  comforts  and  hopes  of 
present  existence.  They  lind  themselves  here  with  the  joy  of  shipwrecked 
mariners,  cast  on  the  untenanted  woods,  and  instantly  become  cheered 
with  the  invigorating  hope  of  being  able  to  build  up  a  family  and  a  for- 
tune from  new  elements.  ^The  north  has  given  to  us,  and  the  south 
has  not  lept  hack''    The  puritan  and  the  planter,  the  German  and  tho 

m 


># 


m 


m 


I 


13U 


MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY. 


Irishman,  llic  Briton  and  the  I'^icnchman  each  witli  their  iwculiar  prejudi- 
ces and  local  altachiuents,  and  the  cotnplicatod  and  inwoven  tissue  of 
sentiments,  fceliniis  and  Ihonghts,  that  country,  and  kindred,  and  home, 
indelibly  combine  with  the  web  of  our  youthful  existence,  have  here  set 
down  beside  each  other.  The  merchant,  mechanic  and  farmer,  each  with 
their  peculiar  prejudices  and  jcalouses,  have  found  themselves  placed  by 
necessity  in  the  same  society.  Mr.  Owen's  grand  engine  of  circum- 
stances begins  to  play  upon  tiiem.  Men  must  cleave  to  their  kind,  and 
must  be  dependent  upon  each  other.  Pride  and  jealousy  must  give  way 
to  the  natural  yearnings  of  the  human  heart  for  society.  They  begin  to 
rub  off  mutual  prejudices.  One  takes  a  step,  and  then  the  other.  They 
meet  half  way,  and  embrace;  and  the  society  thus  newly  organized  and 
constituted,  is  more  liberal,  enlarged,  unprejudiced,  and  of  course  more 
affectionate  and  pleasant,  than  a  society  of  people  of  unique  birth  and 
character,  who  bring  all  their  early  prejudices,  as  a  common  stock,  to  be 
transmitted  as  an  inheritance  in  |)erpetuity. 

The  rough,  sturdy  and  simple  habits  of  the  backwoods  men,  living  in 
that  plenty,  which  depends  only  on  God  and  nature,  being  the  pre- 
])onderating  cast  of  character  in  the  western  country,  have  laid  the 
stamina  of  indejiendent  thought  and  feeling  deep  in  the  breasts  of  this 
people.  A  man  accustomed  only  to  the  fascinating,  but  hollow  inter- 
course of  the  polished  circles  in  the  Atlantic  cities,  at  first  feels  a  painful 
revulsion,  when  mingled  with  this  more  simple  race.  But  he  soon  be- 
comes accustomed  to  the  new  order  of  things ;  and  if  ho  have  a  heart 
to  admire  simplicity,  truth  and  nature,  begins  to  be  pleased  with  it.  He 
respects  a  people,  where  a  poor,  but  honest  man  enters  the  most  aris- 
tocratic mansion  with  a  feeling  of  ease  and  equality. 

It  may  readily  be  supposed,  that  among  such  an  infinite  variety  of 
people,  so  recently  thrown  together,  and  scarcely  yet  amalgamated  into  one 
people,  and  in  a  country,  where  the  Institutions  are  almost  as  fresh  and  sim- 
ple as  the  log  houses,  any  very  distinctive  national  character  could  hardly 
yet  be  predicated  of  the  inhabitants.     Every  attentive  observer,  however, 
discriminates  the  immigrants  froin  the  different  nations,  and  even  from 
the  different  states  of  our  own  country.     The  people  of  Ohio  and  Indiana 
for  example,  have  a  ciiaractcu-  somewhat  distinct  from  that  of  the  other 
western  states.     Tiiat  of  tlio  former,  especially,  is  moulded,  as  a  very 
fair  sample  of  the  New  I'^ngland  and  New  Jersey  patterns.     In  the  latter 
this  character  is  blended,  not  merged  with  the  manners,  opinions  and 
dialect  of  Kentucky.     Illinois  tliough  a  free  state,  has  a  clear  preponde- 
rance of  Kentucky  nationality.     Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  the 
upper  part  of  Alabama  and  Arkansas,  have  distinct  manners  in  which 
the  nationality  of  Kentucky  is  tiie  ground  color.     The  country  still  more 
south,  peopled  witii  large  planters  of  cotton  and  sugar  cane,  with  nume- 


i 


4 


0 


NATIONAL  CHARACTER. 


137 


louri,  the 
Du  which 
till  more 
Ih  nume- 


I 


runs  gangs  of  slaves,  have  the  peculiar  manners,  that  have  naturally  grown 
out  of  their  condition.  On  these  states  too,  especially  on  Louisiana,  we 
begin  to  discern  the  distinct  impress  and  influence  of  French  tempera- 
ment and  manners.  These  siiades  of  difference  are  very  distinctly  visible 
to  persons,  who  have  been  long  and  intimately  acquainted  with  the  people 
of  the  different  regions,  where  they  are  marked. 

But  young  ns  the  country  is,  variously  constituted  and  combined, 
as  are  the  elements  of  its  population,  there  is  already  marked,  and  it  is 
every  year  more  fully  developed,  a  distinctive  character  of  the  western 
people.    A  traveller  from  the  Atlantic  cities,  and  used  only  to  their  man- 
ners, descending  from  Pittsburgh,  or  Wheeling,  the  Ohio  and  the  Missis- 
sippi in  a  steam  boat  of  tl)e  larger  class,  will  find  on  board,  what  may  be 
considered  fair  samples,  of  all  classes  in  our  country,  except  the  farmers. 
To  become  conversant  with  the  younger  representatives  of  the 'yeomanry, 
lie  must  acquaint  himself  with  the  crews  of  the  descending  flat  boats. 
Sufliciently  copious  specimens  of  the  merchants  and  traders,  the  artizans 
the  large  planters,  tin  speculators,  and  last,  though  not  least,  the  ladies, 
will  be  seen  on  board  the  different  steam  boats  descending  to  New 
Orleans,  or  on  their  return  voyage.    The  manners,  so  ascertained,  will 
strike  such  a  traveller  as  we  have  supposed,  with  as  much  novelty, 
distinctness,  and  we  may  add,  if  he  be  not  bigoted  and  fastidious,  with  as 
much  pleasure,  saving  the  language,  as  though  he  had  visited  a  country 
beyond  the  seas.    Tlie  dialect  is  different.     The  enunciation  is  different. 
The  peculiar  and  proverbial  colloquy  is  different.    The  figures  and  illus- 
trations, used  in  common  parlance,  are  strikingly  different.     We  regret, 
that  fidelity  to  our  picture,  that  frankness  and  truth  compel  us  to  admit, 
that  the  frequency  of  profanity  and  strange  curses  is  ordinarily  an  un- 
pleasant element  in  the  conversation.      The  speaking  is  more  rapid. 
The  manner  has  more  appearance  of  earnestness  and  abruptness.     The 
common  comparisons  and  analogies  are  drawn  from  different  views  and 
relations  of  things.    Of  course  he  is  every  moment  reminded,  that  he  is 
a  stranger  among  a  people,  whose  modes  of  existence  and  ways  of  think- 
ing are  of  a  widely  different  character  from  those,  in  the  midst  of  which 
lie  was  reared. 

Although  we  have  so  often  been  described  to  this  traveller,  by  the 
repulsive  terms  backwoods  men,  gougers,  ruffians,  demi-savages,  a 
strange  mixture,  in  the  slang  phrase,  of  the  '  horse  and  the  alligator,^ 
we  confidently  hazard  the  opinion,  that  when  a  little  accustomed  to  the 
manners  of  the  better  class  of  people  among  us,  he  will  institute  a  com- 
parison between  our  people  and  his  own,  not  unfavorable  to  us.  There 
is  evidently  more  ease  and  frankness,  more  readiness  to  meet  a  wish 
to  form  an  acquaintance,  sufficient  tact,  when  to  advance,  and  how  far^ 


18 


•%. 


\ 


#*• 


# 


% 


"■    -^:>' 


fgA->^*iVT"&'CZ 


i^ 


& 


138 


MISSISSIFl'I   VALLEV. 


and  where  fo  pause  in  lliis  effort;  less  holilin*,'  back,  less  diaUust,  less 
feeling  as  if  the  address  of  a  stranger  were  an  insiil(,or  a  degradation. 
There  is  inculcated  and  practised  on  board  the  steam  boats  a  courtesy  to 
ladies,  whi-'-h  is  delightful  i(i  its  proper  extent;  but  which  is  here,  some- 
times, apt  to  overstep  the  modesty  of  nature,  in  the  affectation  of  a 
chivalrous  deference,  which  would  be  considered  misplaced,  or  ridiculous 
on  the  Atlantic  shores.  A  scries  of  acquaintances  are  readily  and  natur- 
ally formed  between  fellow  passengers,  in  their  long  descents  to  New 
Orleans,  very  unlike  the  cold,  constrained,  and  almost  repelling  and 
liostilc  deportment  of  fellow  passengers  in  the  short  stage  and  steam 
boat  passages  in  the  Atlantic  country.    They  are  very  different  from  tlie 
intimacies  of  fellow  passengers  in  crossing  the  Atlantic,  and  infinitely 
more  pleasant.    Putting  out  of  the  question  ennui,  sea  sickness,  and  the 
constant  rolling  of  the  vessel,  circumstances  so  unpropitious  to  the  culti- 
vation of  pleasant  intercourse,  custom  has  prescrilicd  a  state  and  distance 
on  shipboard,  which  cause,  that  cabin  passengers  often  cross  the  ocean  to- 
gether, without  acquiring  any  thing  more  than  a  speaking  intimacy  at 
the  end  of  the  voyage.    Not  so  on  these  passages,  where  the  boat  glides 
steadily  and  swiftly  along  the  verge  of  the  fragrant  willows.    The  green 
shores  are  always  seen  with  the  same  coiqt  cT  ail,  tliat  takes  in  the  magni- 
ficent and  broad  wave  of  the  Mississippi.    Refreshments  come  in  from  the 
shore.    The  passengers  every  day  have  their  promenade.    The  claims  of 
prescription  on  the  score  of  wealth,  family,  ofiicc,  and  adventitious  dis- 
tinctions of  every  sort,  are  in  a  measure  laid  aside,  or  pass  for  nothing. 
The  estimation,  the  worth  and  interest  of  a  person  are  naturally  tried  on 
his  simple  merits,  his  powers  of  conversation,  his  innate  civility,  his  capa- 
cities to  amuse,  and  his  good  feelings. 

The  distinctive  character  of  the  western  people  may  be  traced  in  its 
minuter  shades  to  a  thousand  causes,  among  which  are  not  only  their  new 
modes  of  existence,  the  solitary  lives  which  they,  who  are  not  inhabitants 
of  towns,  lead  in  remote  and  detached  habitations,  the  greater  part  of 
the  time,  and  the  readier  aptitude  and  zest,  which  they  will  naturally  Jiave, 
when  thus  brought  together,  as  we  have  described  above,  to  enjoy  society; 
but  it  chiefly  results  from  the  unchangeable  physical  formation  of  the 
country.    For  instance,  it  has  been  remarked,  that  tJie  inhabitants  of  the 
western  country,  when  thrown  upon  the  blue  water,  are  sailors  almost  at 
once.    Their  long  inland  water  courses,  at  once  the  channels  of  convey- 
ance and  communication,  place  them  in  primary  nautical  schools,  train 
them  to  familiar  acquaintance  with  all  the  methods  of  managing  and 
propelling  water  crafts,  and  naturally  conduct  tlieir  thoughts  from  their 
interior  forests,  and  their  rural  and  secluded  abodes,  down  to  the  ocean. 
The  skill  and  facility,  thus  acquired,  in  being  familiar  with  the  movc- 


more 
count] 
of  life 
metroj 
states  : 
passing 
fcrcnt 
few, 
in  the ; 
tlian 
part  su 
West, 

TlicJ 
a  char 
tains, 
tlie  Eai 
concci 
narrow 
which  1 
tiblc  ot 
man  of 
farmer. 
From 
steam  1 
peril,  i\ 
as  bcfd 


f,A 


N  A  TION  \  L    CH  A  R  A  CTP.Il . 


130 


mcnls  of  the  canoe,  llio  periodic  and  skilT,  almost  from  the  day;?  of  infan- 
cy, ^ivc  them  the  samedcxtcrily  and  daring  on  the  ocean,  when  they  are 
at  length  wafted  down  to  its  tempestuous  bosom,  with  those  who  were 
reared  on  the  shores  of  that  clement.  But  an  inhabitant  of  the  Atlantic 
shore  can  have  but  a  faint  conception  of  the  sublime  emotions,  with  which 
a  young  man  reared  in  the  silence  and  seclusion  of  the  western  forests, 
first  beholds  the  illimitable  extent  of  the  *  broad,  flat  sea.'  Every  intelli- 
ncnt  and  gifted  son  of  the  West  will  be  ^  poet  for  tlio  first  few  hours 
ofhis  sailing  on  the  ocean,  if  sea  sickness  do  not  banish  the  visitings 
of  the  muse. 

Their  forests  and  prairies  concur  with  their  inclinations  and  abundant 
leisure,  to  give  them  the  spirit-stirring  and  adventurous  habits  of  the 
chase.  Tlieir  early  training  to  leave  the  endearments  and  the  maternal 
nursing  of  home,  for  an  absence  of  three  or  four  months,  on  voyages  of 
constant  exposure,  and  often  of  a  length  of  more  than  five  hundred 
leagues,  will  naturally  tend  to  create  a  character,  widely  unlike  the 
more  shrinking,  stationary  and  regular  habits  of  the  people  of  the  older 
country.  Multitudes,  perhaps  the  majority  of  those  in  the  middle  walks 
of  life  in  the  Atlantic  country,  seldom  extend  their  travels  beyond  their 
metropolis,  or  their  chief  mart.  Every  part  of  the  middle  and  northern 
states  is  traversed  in  all  directions  by  fine  roads,  on  which  are  continually 
passing  great  numbers  of  stage  coaches.  In  the  West,  all  this  is  very  dif- 
ferent. There  arc  roads,  indeed,  some  of  which  nature,  and  but  a  veiy 
few,  art,  has  rendered  tolerably  passable.  But  the  passing  on  them,  even 
in  the  most  populous  districts  is  limited.  The  passages  are  seldom  more 
than  from  village  to  village,  settlement  to  settlement,  and  for  the  most 
part  subservient  to  arriving  at  the  real  roads,  the  great  turnpikes  of  the 
West,  her  long  rivers. 

These  rivers,  which  bound  or  intersect  every  state  in  the  West, are  of 
a  character  entirely  unlike  most  of  those,  which  flow  east  of  the  moun- 
tains. They  arc  narrow,  deep,  and  to  a  person  used  only  to  the  rivers  of 
the  East,  and  judging  them  by  comparison  and  by  their  width,  of  an  in- 
conceivable length  of  course.  Their  depth  of  water  resulting  from  the 
narrowness  of  tlieir  channels,  and  the  level  and  alluvial  country,  through 
which  for  the  most  part  they  flow,  render  them  almost  universally  suscep- 
tible of  steam  boat,  or  at  least  boat  navigation.  The  instance  of  a  young 
man  of  enterprise  and  standing,  as  a  merchant,  trader,  pla'-'.cr,  or  even 
farmer,  who  has  not  made  at  least  one  trip  to  New  Orleans,  is  uncommon 
From  the  upper  and  even  middle  western  states,  before  the  invention  of 
steam  boats,  it  was  a  voyage  of  long  duration,  and  we  may  add,  of  more 
peril,  than  a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic.  These  rivers  are  still  descended 
as  before  that  invention,  in  boata  of  every  description.     In  recently 


4' 


rt 


mm. 


-# 


140 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


A 


Hi 
S.; 


^ 


making  tlie  descent  from  Pittsburgh  to  Natchez,  in  an  uncommonly  low 
stage  of  the  waters,  wc  noted  between  two  and  three  hundred  descendin<r 
boats,  of  different  descript  ions,  and  of  the  larger  class.  The  greater  por- 
tion, however,  were  flat  nnd  keel  boats.  Almost  all  the  crews,  that 
descend  on  these  boats,  return  on  steam  boats.  An  ascending  steam 
boat  carriesufrom  one  to  three  hundred  passengers;  and  the  average  trip 
from  New  Orleans  to  Louisville,  or  St.  Louis,  may  be  twelve  days, 
and  to  Cincinnati  thirteen.  Every  principal  farmer,  along  the  great 
-water  courses,  builds  aflat  boat  and  sends  to  New  Orleans  the  produce  of 
his  farm  in  it.  Thus  a  great  proportion  of  the  males  of  the  West,  of  a 
relative  standing  and  situation  in  life  to  be  most  likely  to  impress  their 
opinions  and  manners  upon  society,  have  made  this  passage  to  New  Or- 
leans. They  have  passed  through  different  states  and  regions,  have  been 
more  or  less  conversant  with  men  of  different  nations,  languages  and 
manners.  They  have  experienced  that  expansion  of  mind,  which  can  not 
fail  to  be  produced  by  traversing  long  distances  of  country,  and  viewing 
different  forms  of  nature  and  society.  Each  flat  or  keel  boat,  that  has 
■descended  from  Pittsburgh  or  the  Missouri,  to  New  Orleans,  could  pub- 
lish a  journal  of  no  inconsiderable  interest.  The  descent,  if  in  autumn, 
has  probably  occupied  fifty  days.  Until  the  boatmen  had  passed  the 
mouth  of  th*"  Ohio,  they  must  have  been  in  some  sense  amphibious  ani- 
mals continually  getting  into  the  water,  to  work  their  boat  off  shoals  and 
sandbars.  The  remainder  of  ther  descent  was  amidst  all  the  dangers  of 
sawyers,  sandbars,  snags,  storms,  points  of  islands,  wreck  heaps,  difficulty 
and  danger  of  landing,  and  a  great  many  anomalous  trials  and  dangers. 
The  whole  voyage  is  a  scene  of  anxiety,  exposure  and  labor. 

It  follows,  that  the  habits  of  the  whole  people  of  the  West  must  as 
necessarily  receive  a  peculiar  bent  and  impulse,  as  tliose  of  Marblehead, 
Cape  Cod,  and  Nantucket,  in  Massachusetts.  The  influence  of  these 
causes  is  already  visibly  impressed  upon  the  manners  and  thoughts  of 
the  people.  They  are  the  manners  of  people  accustomed,  on  going  on 
hoard  a  steam  boat,  to  see  it  fitted  up  with  a  glaring  of  splendor  and 
display,  perhaps  not  always  in  the  best  taste,  but  peculiarly  calculated  to 
captivate  and  dazzle  the  youthful  ^e.  They  come  to  tliis  crowded 
scene  of  gaiety  and  splendor,  this  little  moving  city,  from  the  solitudes 
of  forests  and  prairies,  and  remote  dwellings.  They  find  themselves 
amidst  a  mass  of  people,  male  afid  female,  dressed  as  much  as  their 
means  will  allow.  There  are ,  cards,  and  wine,  and  novels,  and  young 
and  gay  people,  and  all  conceivable  artificial  excitements,  to  stir  up  the 
youthful  appetite  for  hilarity.  When  we  consider  what  temptations  these 
long  and  necessarily  intimate  associations  present  to  minds,  often  not 
much  regulated  by  religious  discipline,  training  or  example,  to  undue 


I 


millions 
whether  i 


RCIJraOU»   CHARACTER. 


HI 


craiety,  gallantry,  intoxication  nnd  gambling,  it  is  as  surprising,  as  it  is 
Jionorable  to  the  chnrncter  of  the  West,  that  these  voyages  are  generally 
terminated  in  so  much  quietness,  morality  ond  friendship. 

It  is  true,  the  gay,  the  young,  dashing  and  reckless  spirits  of  the 
community  are  thus  brought  in  contact,  to  act,  and  re-oct  upon  each 
other  and  society.  But  there  arc  always  some  graver  spirits  on  the 
steam  boats,  whose  pret^eiioe  inspires  a  certain  degree  of  awe  and  re- 
straint.— A  keen  sense  of  the  necessity  of  strong  and  unvarying  regula- 
tions has  created  rigid  rules,  at  least  upon  the  better  of  them,  for  regulating 
the  temporary  intercourse  on  board ;  and  on  the  whole,  there  is  an  air  of 
much  more  decorum  and  quietness,  than  could  be  inferred  from  luiowing 
tlie  circumstances  of  these  temporary  associations. 

In  tracing  the  result  of  these  effects,  we  discover,  that  the  idea  of 
distance  is  very  different  in  the  head  of  a  west  country  man  from  the  same 
idea,  as  entertained  by  the  inhabitant  of  Lancaster  in  Pennsylvania,  or 
Worcester  in  Massachusetts.  The  conversation  of  the  former  indicates, 
that  his  train  of  thinking  is  modelled  by  images  drawn  from  great  distances 
on  long  rivers,  from  extensive  trips  on  steam  boats,  long  absence  from 
home,  and  familiarity  with  exposure,  and  the  habit  of  looking  danger  and 
death  in  the  face.  Were  it  not  foreign  to  the  objects  of  this  article,  a 
thousand  amusing  examples  could  be  given.  The  vocabulary  of  figures 
drawn  from  boats  and  steam  boats,  the  phrases,  metaphors,  allusions,  that 
grow  out  of  the  peculiar  modes  of  life  of  this  people,  are  at  once  amusing, 
singular  and  copious.  The  stump  speech  of  a  western  aspirant  for  the 
favors  of  the  people  has  a  very  appropriate  garnish  from  this  vocabulary, 
and  compared  with  tliat  of  an  Atlantic  demagogue,  would  finely  illustrate 
his  peculiar  modes  of  thinking. 

The  point  most  to  our  purpose  in  these  remarks  is,  to  enquire  what 
influence  this,  and  other  great  operating  causes  have  upon  the  character, 
manners  and  morals  of  the  people?  It  must  be  admitted,  that  while 
these  frequent  trips  up  and  down  the  river,  and  more  than  all  to  New 
Orleans,  give  to  the  young  people,  and  those  who  impart  authority, 
impulse  and  tone  to  fashion  and  opinion,  an  air  of  society,  ease  and 
confidence;  the  young  are  apt  at  the  same  time  to  imbibe  from  the  con- 
tagion of  example,  habits  of  extravagance,  dissipation,  and  a  rooted 
attachment  to  a  wandering  life. 

Religious  Character  op  the  Western  People.  An  experiment 
is  making  in  this  vast  country,  which  must  ultimately  contain  so  many 
millions  of  people,  on  the  broadest  scale  on  which  it  has  ever  been  made, 
whether  religion,  is  a  national  distinction  of  character,  can  be  maintained 


':f(f 


rj-i 


■^A 


.^, 


112 


:<rississipri  valley. 


r 


a 


u 


williotit  nny  lofjislativc  nid,  or  even  recognition  liy  tlie  ffovcrnmcnt.    If 
there  be  any  roforenco  to  reli^Mon,  in  nny  of  the  constitutions  and  enacf- 
nionts,  in  the  western  country,  beyond  tlio  simple,  occasional  grnntin«r  of 
a  distinct  incorporation,  it  manifests  itself  in  a  guarded  jealousy  of  the 
interference  of  nny  religious  feeling,  or  influence  with  the  tenor  of 
legislation.     In  most  of  the  constitutions,  ministers  of  the  gosix;!  nro 
expressly  interdicted  from  any  oflTice  of  profit  or  trust,  in  the  gift  of 
the  people.    In  none  of  the  enactments  arc  there  any  provisions  for  the 
support  of  any  form  of  worship  whatever.    But  if  it  be  inferred  from 
this,  that  religion  occupies  little  or  no  place  in  the  thoughts  of  the  people, 
that  tlicrc  are  no  forms  of  worship,  and  few  ministers  of  the  gospel,  no 
iufe'cncc  can  bo  wider  from  the  fact.    It  is  the  settled  political  maxim 
of  the  West,  that  religion  is  a  concern  entirely  between  the  conscience 
and  God,  and  ought  to  bo  left  solely  to  his  guardianship  and  care.     The 
people  are  generally  averse  to  binding  themselves  by  any  previous  leffai 
obligation  to  a  pastor  for  services  stipulated  to  bo  performed.    It  is  the 
general  impression,  that  he  ought  to  derive  his  support  from  voluntary 
contributions,  after  services  performed,  and  uninfluenced  by  any  antece- 
dent contract  or  understanding.    There  arc  many  towns  and  villages, 
where  other  modes  prevail ;  but  such  is  the  general  standing  feeling  of 
tlic  West. 

Hence,  except  among  the  Catholics,  there  arc  very  few  settled  pastors, 
in  the  sense  in  which  that  phrase  is  understood  in  New  England  and  the 
Atlantic  cities.    Most  of  the  ministers,  that  are  in  some  sense  perma- 
nent, discharge  pastoral  duties  not  only  in  their  individual  societies,  but 
in  a  wide  district  about  them.    The  range  of  duties,  the  emolument,  the 
estimation,  and  in  fact  the  whole  condition  of  a  western  pastor,  arc 
widely  different  from  an  Atlantic  minister.    In  each  case,  there  are 
peculiar  immunities,  pleasures  and  inconveniences,  growing  out  of  tlic 
differences  of  condition.    We  do  not  undertake  to  balance  the  advanta- 
ges in  favor  of  either.    It  has  been  an  hundred  times  represented,  and 
in  every  form  of  intelligence,  in  the  eastern  religious  publications,  tliai 
there  were  few  preachers  in  the  country,  and  that  whole  wide  districts 
liad  no  religious  mstruction,  or  forms  of  worship  whatever.    We  believe, 
from  a  survey,  certainly  very  general,  and  we  trust,  faithful,  that  there 
arc  as  many  j)reachers,  in  proportion  to  the  people,  as  there  are  in  the 
Atlantic  country.     A  circulating  phalanx  of  Methodists,  Baptists  and 
Cumberland  Presbyterians,  of  Atlantic  missionaries,  and  of  young  eleves 
of  the  Catholic  theological  seminaries,  from  the  redundant  mass  of 
unoccupied  ministers,  both  in  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  countries, 
pervades  this  great  valley  with  its  numerous  detachments,  from  Pittsburgh, 


i/ie  u 
nil  pu 
and  g 

It  i; 

of  the 
tions. 
])cal  oi 
rccurn 
elevate 
diately 
more  u 
if  we  e: 
ance  of 
printed 
ing  wht 
fail  to  I 
and  if  I 
Then 
in  the  ri 
it  is  seld 
ministry 
duration 
given  by 
notwiths 
and  sane 
niary  suf 
can  only 
depends 
mixed, p 
latent  en 
uuconsci 
disinterei 
their  bret 
goad  thci 
Travellin 
time  and 
tJicir  pen 
turnof  th( 
the  preac 


# 


UEI.IfilOlIS   CHARACTER. 


ii:) 


merit.  If 
ind  ennct- 
rnntini'  of 
isy  of  the 
I  tenor  of 
Tospel  art' 
the  gift  of 
3119  for  the 
jrrccl  from 
the  people, 
gospel,  no 
ical  maxim 
conscience 
care.  Tiic 
ivioug  legal 
.  It  is  the 
ri  voluntary 
my  antecc- 
dd  villages, 
I  feeling  of 

led  pastors, 
md  and  the 
msc  perina- 
(cicties,  but 
ilumentjthc 
pastor,  arc 
there  arc 

out  of  the 
he  advanta- 
sented,  and 
;ations,  thai 
ide  districts 
We  believe, 
1,  that  there 
c  are  in  the 

aptists  and 
oung  eleven 
nt  mass  of 

;  countries, 

Pittsbiirgli, 


■■■  * 


tJie  nioiinlains,  tlie  lake.s,  and  tiic  Missouri,  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  Tliey 
nil  pursue  the  inlercslH  of  their  several  Ucnoniiuations  in  their  own  way, 
and  generally  in  profound  peace.        y 

It  is  true,  a  serious  mind  can  not  fail  to  observe  with  regret,  the  want 
of  the  ijcrmancnt  and  regular  moral  inilucncc  of  settled  religious  institu- 
tions. The  regular  *  church  going  bell,'  to  our  car,  such  a  delightful 
peal  on  the  sabbath,  is  not  often  heard  in  the  western  villages  with  the 
recurrence  of  tliat  day;  and  there  is  something  of  tramiuil  sobriety,  of 
elevated  and  just  notions  of  morals,  the  inlluence  of  which  is  so  imme- 
diately ixirceived  in  a  country,  wlicre  regular  worship  prevails,  that  in  the 
more  unsettled  districts  of  this  country,  is  felt  as  a  painful  privation,  But 
if  we  except  Arkansas  and  Louisiana,  there  is  every  where  else  an  abund- 
ance of  some  kind  of  preaching.  The  village  papers  on  all  sides  contain 
printed  notices,  and  written  ones  arc  affixed  to  the  public  places,  notify- 
ing what  are  called  '  meetings.'  A  traveller  in  a  clerical  dress  does  not 
fail  to  be  asked,  at  the  public  houses,  where  he  stops,  if  he  is  a  preacher, 
and  if  he  wishes  to  notify  a  meeting. 

There  arc  stationary  preachers  in  the  towns,  particularly  in  Oliio.  But 
in  the  rural  congregations  through  the  western  country  beyond  Ohio, 
it  is  seldom  that  a  minister  is  stationary  for  more  than  two  months.  A 
ministry  of  a  year  in  one  place  may  bo  considered  beyond  the  common 
duration.  Nine  tenths  .of  tlie  religious  instruction  of  the  country  is 
given  by  people,  who  itinerate,  and  who  are,  witli  very  few  exceptions, 
notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  to  the  contrary,  men  of  great  zeal 
and  sanctity.  These  earnest  men,  who  have  little  to  expect  from  pecu- 
niary support,  and  less  from  the  prescribed  reverence  and  influence,  which 
can  only  appertain  to  a  stated  ministry,  find,  at  once,  that  every  thing 
depends  upon  the  cultivation  of  popular  talents.  Zeal  for  the  great  cause, 
mixed,  perhaps,  imperceptibly,  with  a  spice  of  earthly  ambition,  and  the 
latent  emulation  and  pride  of  our  natures,  and  other  motives,  which 
uuconsciously  influence,  more  or  less,  the  most  sincere  and  the  most 
disinterested,  the  desire  of  distinction  among  their  cotemporaries  and 
their  brethren,  and  a  reaching  struggle  for  the  fascination  of  popularity, 
goad  them  on  to  study  all  the  means  and  arts  of  winning  tlie  people. 
Travelling  from  month  to  month  through  dark  forests,  with  such  ample 
time  and  range  for  deep  thought,  as  they  amble  slowly  on  horseback  along 
tlicir  peregrinations,  the  men  naturally  acquire  a  pensive  and  romantic 
turn  of  thought  and  expression,  as  we  think,  favorable  to  eloquence.  Hence 
the  preaching  is  of  a  highly  popular  cast,  and  its  first  aim  is  to  excite  the 
feelings. — Hence,  too,  excitements,  or  in  religious  parlance '  awakenings,' 
are  common  in  all  this  region.  Living  remote,  and  consigned  the  greater 
part  of  the  time,  to  the  musing  loneliness  of  their  condition  in  tlic  square 


■^ 


m 


»< 


■M 


* 


Ill 


MIflSIHHIPPI    V.VLLEV. 


V      • 


M 


rlcnrin^  of  llio  furust,  or  the  prairie;  when  thry  coiij^rcgate  on  i\w-^(^ 
oxtitin;^  occasions,  society  itself  is  a  novelty,  and  an  excitement.  Tin; 
jicoplo  are  naturally  more  sensitive  and  enthusiastic,  than  in  the  older 
countries.  A  man  of  rud.,,  boisterous,  but  native  elo(iuence,  rises  ainoii!,' 
these  children  of  the  ibrest  and  simple  nature,  with  his  voice  pitclu d 
upon  the  tones,  and  his  utterance  thrilling  with  that  awful  theme,  to  whicli 
each  strin^T  of  the  human  heart  every  where  responds;  and  while  tho 
woodi^i  echo  his  vehement  declamations,  his  audience  is  alternately  dis- 
solved in  tears,  awed  to  profound  feeling,  or  fulling  in  spasms.  Tins 
country  opens  a  boundless  theatre  for  strong,  earnest  ond  unlettercti 
eloquence;  and  tho  preacher  seldom  has  extensive  inHucncc,  or  usefulnesH 
who  does  not  possess  some  touch  of  this  power. 

These  excitements  have  been  prevalent,  within  tho  two  or  three  pnsi 
years,  in  the  middle  Western  states;  chiefly  in  Tennessee,  and  for  the 
most  part  under  tho  ministry  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians.  Sonic- 
times  it  influences  a  settlement,  or  a  town;  and  sometimes,  as  there, 
spreads  over  a  state.  The  people  assemble,  as  to  an  imposing  spectatle. 
They  pour  from  their  woods,  to  hear  the  new  preacher,  whose  fame  li;is 
travelled  before  him.  The  preaching  has  a  scenic  eifecf.  It  is  a  theme 
of  earnest  discussion,  reviewing,  comparison,  and  intense  interest. 

None,  but  one  who  has  seen,  can  imagine  the  interest,  excited  in  n 
district  of  country,  perhaps,  fifty  miles  in  extent,  by  the  awaited  approaci 
of  the  time  for  a  camp  meeting;  and  none,  but  one  who  has  seen,  can 
imagine  how  profoundly  the  preachers  have  understood  what  produces 
eflect,  and  how  well  they  have  practised  upon  it.  Suppose  the  scene  to 
be,  where  tho  most  extensive  excitements  and  tho  most  frequent  camp 
meetings  have  been,  during  the  two  past  years,  in  one  of  the  beautiful 
and  fertile  valleys  among  the  mountains  of  Tennessee.  The  notice  has 
been  circulated  two  or  three  months.  On  the  appointed  day,  coaches, 
chaises,  wagons,  carts,  people  on  horseback,  and  multitudes  travelling 
from  a  distance  on  foot,  wagons  with  provisions,  mattresses,  tents,  and 
arrangements  for  the  stay  of  a  week,  are  seen  hurrying  from  overy  point 
towards  the  central  spot.  It  is  in  the  midst  of  a  grove  of  tJiose  beautiful 
and  lofty  trees,  natural  to  the  vallies  of  Tennessee,  in  its  deefwst  verdure, 
and  beside  a  spring  branch,  for  the  requisite  supply  of  water. 

The  ambitious  and  wealthy  are  there,  because  in  this  region  opinion 
is  all-powerful ;  and  they  are  there,  either  to  extend  their  influence,  or 
that  their  absence  may  not  be  noted,  to  diminish  it.  Aspirants  for  office 
are  there,  to  electioneer,  and  gain  popularity.  Vast  nnmbers  are  there 
from  simple  curiosity,  and  merely  to  enjoy  a  spectacle.  The  young  and 
the  beautiful  are  there,  with  mixed  motives,  whicli  it  were  best  not 
severely  to  scrutinize.    Children  are  there,  their  young  eyes  glistening 


(* 

**#, 


m 


KELIUIOLI   CIIAnACrilK. 


145 


on  (h(>H<> 
tit.  'I'lu- 
tho  uldcc 

3  pitclud 
,  to  whicli 
while  tliti 
lately  tlis- 
ns.  This 
mletterctl 
iselulncsfi 

three  pnsf 
tid  for  the 
3.  Sonic- 
as  there, 
spectacle. 
3  fame  Ikis 
is  a  theme 
rest. 

xcited  ill  I 
d  approaci 
I  seen,  can 
;  produces 
ic  scene  to 
uent  camp 
3  beautiful 
notice  has 
coaches, 
travelling 
tents,  and 
very  point 
beautiful 
t  verdure, 


with  the  intense  intere:*t  of  eager  curiosity.  Thu  tniddle  aged  fathers 
and  luothera  of  families  uro  there,  with  the  sober  views  of  i)eople,  whose 
plans  in  life  aro  fixed,  and  waiting  calmly  to  hear.  Men  and  women  of 
hoary  hairs  aro  tlicrc,  with  su(  h  thoughts,  it  may  bu  h()[)cd,  as  their  yeari 
invite. — Such  is  the  congrc;,niti()n  consisting  of  thousands. 

A  host  of  preachers  of  diflerent  denominations  aro  there,  aomo  in  the 
earnest  vigor  and  aspiring  desires  of  youth,  waiting  an  opportunity  for 
display;  others,  who  have  proclaimed  the  gospel,  as  pilgrims  of  the  cross, 
fVom  the  remotest  north  of  our  vast  country  to  the  shores  of  thu  Mexican 
gulf,  and  ready  to  utter  the  words,  the  feelings  and  the  experience,  which 
they  have  treasured  up  in  a  travelling  ministry  of  fifty  years,  and  whose 
accents,  trembling  with  age,  still  more  impressively  than  their  words,  an- 
nounce, that  they  will  soon  travel,  and  preach  no  more  on  the  earth,  are 
there.     Such  are  the  preachers. 

The  line  of  tents  is  pitched ;  and  the  religious  city  grows  up  in  a  few 
hours  under  the  trees,  beside  the  stream.  Lamps  are  hung  in  lines  among 
the  branches;  and  the  effect  of  tlieir  glare  upon  the  surrounding  forest  is, 
as  of  magic.    The  scenery  of  the  most  brilliant  theatre  in  the  world  is  a 
painting  only  for  children,  compared  with  it.    Meantime  the  multitudes, 
with  the  highest  e.xcitement  of  social  feeling  added  to  the  general  enthu- 
siasm of  expectation,  pass  from  tent  to  tent,  and  interchange  apostolic 
greetings  and  embraces,  and  talk  of  the  coming  solenmities.     Their 
coffee  and  tea  are  prepared,  and  their  supper  is  finished.    By  this  time 
the  moon,  for  they  take  thought,  to  appoint  the  meeting  at  the  proper 
time  of  the  moon,  begins  to  show  its  disk  above  the  dark  summits  of  the 
mountains;  and  a  few  stars  are  seen  glimmering  through  the  intervals  of 
the  branches.    The  whole  constitutes  a  temple  worthy  of  the  grandeur 
of  God.     An  old  man,  in  a  dress  of  the  quaintest  simplicity,  ascends 
a  platform,  wipes  the  dust  from  his  spectacles,  and  in  a  voice  of  suppressed 
emotion,  gives  out  the  hymn,  of  which  the  whole  assembled  multitude 
can  recite  the  words, — and  an  air,  in  which  every  voice  can  join.    We 
should  deem  poorly  of  the  heart,  that  would  not  thrill,  as  the  song  is  heard, 
like  the  'sound  of  many  waters,^  echoing  among  the  hills  and  mountains. 
Such  are  the  scenes,  the  associations,  and  such  the  influence  of  external 
things  upon  a  nature  so  '  fearfully  and  wonderfully'  constituted,  as  ours, 
tliat  little  effort  is  necessary  on  such  a  theme  as  religion,  urged  at  such 
a  place,  under  such  circumstances,  to  fill  the  heart  and  the  eyes.     The 
hoary  orator  talks  of  God,  of  eternity,  a  judgment  to  come,  and  all  that 
is  impressive  ^beyond.     He  speaks  of  his  <  experiences,'  his  toils  and 
travels,  his  persecutions  and  welcomes,  and  how  many  he  has  seen  in 
hope,  in  peace  and  triumph,  gathered  to  their  fathers;  and  when  he  speaks 


■>'  ] 


10 


146 


MISSISSIPI'I    VALiiEY. 


ifll 

H 

IHi 

flii 

■ 

in 

II 

1 

1 

^^^H^n 

1 

1 

of  the  short  space  that  remains  to  him,  his  only  regret  is,  that  he  can  no 
more  proclaim,  in  the  silence  of  dcatli,  tJie  mercies  of  his  crucified 
Redeemer.  '  ?"  *  * 

There  is  no  need  of  the  studied  trick  of  oratory,  to  produce  in  such 
a  place  the  deepest  movements  of  tlie  heart.  No  wonder,  as  the  speaker 
pauses  to  dash  the  gathering  moisture  from  his  own  eye,  that  his  audi- 
ence are  dissolved  in  tears,  or  uttering  the  exclamations  of  penitence. 
Nor  is  it  cause  for  admiration,  that  many,  wlio  poised  themselves  on  an 
estimation  of  higher  intellect,  and  a  nobler  insensibility,  than  the  crowd, 
catch  the  infectious  feeling,  and  become  women  and  cliildren  in  their 
turn ;  and  though  they  '  came  to  mock,  remain  to  pray.' 

Notwitlistanding  all,  that  has  been  said  in  derision  of  these  spectacles, 
so  common  in  this  region,  it  can  not  be  denied,  that  tlie  influence  on  tiio 
whole,  is  salutary,  and  the  general  bearing  upon  the  great  interests  of 
the  community,  good.  It  will  be  long,  before  a  regular  ministry  can  be 
generally  supported,  if  ever.  In  place  of  that,  nothing  tends  so  strongly 
to  supply  the  want  of  the  influence,  resulting  from  the  constant  duties 
of  a  stated  ministry,  as  the  recurrence  of  these  explosions  of  feeling, 
which  shake  the  moral  world,  and  purify  its  atmosphere,  until  the  accu- 
mulating seeds  of  moral  disease  require  a  similar  lustration  again. 

Whatever  be  the  cause,  tlie  effect  is  certain,  that  through  the  state  of 
Tennessee,  parts  of  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Indiana  and 
Illinois,  these  excitements  have  produced  a  palpable  change  in  the  habits 
and  manners  o^  the  people.  The  gambhng  and  drinking  shops  are 
deserted :  and  the  people,  that  used  to  congregate  there,  now  go  to  tlie 
religious  meetings.  The  Metliodists,  too,  have  done  great  and  incalcu- 
lable good.  They  are  generally  of  a  character,  education  and  training, 
that  prepare  them  for  the  elements,  upon  which  they  are  destined  to 
operate.  They  speak  tlie  dialect,  understand  the  interests,  and  enter 
into  the  feelings  of  their  audience.  They  exert  a  prodigious  and  incal- 
culable bearing  upon  the  rough  backwoods  men;  and  do  good,  where 
more  polished,  and  trained  ministers  would  preach  without  effect.  No 
mind,  but  His,  for  whom  they  labor,  can  know,  how  many  profane  they 
have  reclaimed,  drunkards  they  have  reformed,  and  wanderers  they  have 
brought  home  to  God. 

The  Baptists,  too,  and  the  missionaries  from  the  Atlantic  country, 
seeing  such  a  wide  and  open  field  before  them,  labor  with  great  diligence 
and  earnestness,  operating  generally  upon  another  class  of  the  commu- 
nity. The  Catholics  are  botl*  r.nmerous  and  zealous  j  and,  perfectly 
united  in  spirit  and  interest,  form  a  compact  phalanx,  and  produce  the 
effect  of  moral  union.    From  their  united  exertions  it  happens,  that  over 


'i'H(^<itiK  . 


rURSUITS   OF   THE  PEOrLC. 


147 


all  this  country,  among  all  the  occasions  for  public  gatherings,  wliicli, 
from  their  rareness  excite  the  greater  interest,  religious  meetings  are  by 
far  the  most  numerous. 

That  part  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  west  of  the  mountains  has  a 
predominance  of  Presbyterians.  The  great  state  of  Ohio  is  made  up  of 
such  mixed  elements,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  say,  which  of  all  the  sects 
prevails.  As  a  general  characteristic,  the  people  are  strongly  inclined 
to  attend  on  some  kind  of  religious  worship. — Presbyterians  and  Baptists 
strive  for  the  ascendency  in  Kentucky.  Methodiats  and  Cumberland 
Presbyterians  are  numerous.  They,  probably,  have  the  ascendency  in 
Tennessee,  and  they  are  making  great  efi'orts  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi. 
Methodists  are  the  prevailing  denomination  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri, 
Arkansas,  Mississippi  and  Alabama.  Catholics  have  an  undisputed 
ascendency  in  Louisiana  and  Florida.  They  have  many  societies  in 
Missouri  and  Illinois.  They  are  prevalent  in  a  portion  of  Kentucky, 
and  have  a  respectable  seminary  at  Bairdstown.  Methodists,  Presbyte- 
rians and  Catholics  are  the  prevailing  denominations  of  the  West.* 


Pursuits  op  the  People.  Manufacturers,  &c.  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania is  a  manufacturing  region,  and  along  with  Ohio,  is  the  New  England 
of  the  West.  The  people  bring  down  the  Alleghany,  clear  and  fine  pine 
plank;  delivering  them  along  the  whole  course  of  the  Ohio,  and  sending 
great  quantities  even  to  New  Orleans.  These  pines,  of  which  the  houses  in 
New  Orleans  are  finished,  waved  over  the  streams  of  New  York,  and  are 
despatched  in  rafls  and  flat  boats,  after  being  sawed  into  plank,  from 
Oleanne  point.  From  the  Monongahela  is  sent  the  rye  whiskey,  which 
is  so  famous  in  the  lower  country.  On  the  Youghiogheny  and  Mononga- 
hela, at  Connelsville  on  the  fonner,  and  Brownsville  on  the  latter,  are 
important  manufactories,  chiefly  of  iron.  Pittsburgh  has  been  called  the 
Birmingham  of  America;  though  that  honor,  is  keenly  disputed  by  her 
rival  Cincinnati.  There  are  numerous  manufacturing  towns  in  Ohio,  of 
which,  after  Cincinnati,  Zanesville  and  Steubenville  are  the  chief  All 
this  region,  in  numerous  streams,  calculated  for  water  power,  in  a  salu- 
brious climate,  in  abundance  of  pit  coal,  in  its  position,  and  the  genius 
and  habits  of  its  inhabitants,  is  naturally  adapted  to  become  a  manufac- 
turing country.  Materials  for  articles  of  p'ime  necessity,  as  salt,  iron 
and  glass,  exist  in  the  most  ample  abundance.  Pittsburgh,  blackened 
with  the  smoke  of  pit  coal,  and  one  qiiarter  of  Cincinnati,  throwing  up 
columns  of  smoke  from  the  steam  fiictories,  may  be  considered  as  oreat 


'Fot  table  of  religious!  secM,  see  Appendix,  table  No,  VI. 


■pfl|fl|^'WW"»'^'*-'*'ifl™"'  V-^™    "^'. 


148 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEV. 


manufacturing  establishments.  If  we  except  the  cordage,  bale  ropo, 
bagging,  and  other  articles  of  hempen  fabric,  manufactured  in  Kentucky, 
the  chief  part  of  the  western  manufactures  originates  in  west  Pennsyl- 
vania  and  Ohio.  There  are  some  indications,  that  Indiana  will  possess 
a  manufacturing  spirit;  and  there  are  separate,  incipient  establishments 
of  this  kind,  more  or  less  considerable,  in  every  state,  but  Louisiana  and 
Mississippi. 

These  manufactures  consist  of  a  great  variety  of  articles  of  prime 
necessity,  use  and  ornament.  The  principal  are  of  iron,  as  castings  of 
all  sorts;  and  almost  every  article  of  ironmongery,  that  is  manufactured 
in  the  world.     This  manufacture  is  carried  on  to  an  immense  extent. 

Glass  is  manufactured  in  various  places,  at  present,  it  is  supposed, 
nearly  to  an  amount,  to  supply  the  country.  Manufactures  in  woollen 
and  cotton,  in  pottery,  in  laboratories,  as  white  and  red  lead,  Prussian 
blue,  and  the  colors  generally,  the  acids  and  other  chemical  preparations, 
in  steam  power  machinery,  saddlery,  wheel  irons,  wire  drawing,  buttons, 
knitting  needles,  silver  plating,  Morrocco  leather,  articles  in  brass  and 
copper,  hats,  boots  and  shoes,  breweries,  tin,  and  other  metals,  cabinet 
work;  in  short,  manufactures  subservient  to  the  arts,  and  to  domestic 
subsistence,  are  carried  on  at  various  places  in  the  western  country  with 
great  spirit.  Ohio  has  imbibed  from  her  prototype,  New  England,  manu- 
facturing propensities;  and  we  have  heard  it  earnestly  contested,  that 
her  capabilities  for  being  a  great  manufacturing  country,  were  even 
superior  to  those  of  New  England.  It  is  affirmed,  that,  taking  the  whole 
year  into  consideration,  her  climate  is  more  favorable  to  health;  and 
there  can  be  no  question,  that  in  her  abundance  of  fuel,  pit  coal,  and  iron 
and  the  greater  profusion  of  the  raw  material  of  manufactures  in  general, 
she  has  greatly  the  advantage. 

In  the  state  of  Kentucky,  hemp  is  raised  to  a  considerable  extent;  and 
in  its  difierent  manufactures  constitutes  a  material  article  in  her  exports. 
Salt  is  manufactured  through  all  the  western  country  in  sufficient  abun- 
dance for  home  consumption.  Shoes,  hats  and  clothing,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  are  yet  imported  from  abroad  into  some  of  the  western  states. 
But  as  we  have  remarked,  the  far  greater  part  of  the  people  are  farmers. 
In  west  Pensylvania  and  Virginia,  in  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  in  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, Missouri,  and  a  part  of  Tennessee,  the  same  articles  are  grown,  and 
sent  abroad,  to  wit,  flour,  corn  and  the  small  grains;  pulse,  potatoes,  and 
the  other  vegetables;  fruit,  as  apples,  fresh  and  dried,  dried  peaches,  and 
other  preserved  fruits;  beef,  pork, cheese,  butter,  poultry,  venison  hams, 
live  cattle,  hogs  and  horses.  The  greater  part  of  the  flour  is  sent  from 
Ohio  and  Kentucky;  though  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Missouri  are  following 
thee.xainple  with  great  vigor.  Wheat  is  grown  with  more  ease  in  Illinois 


-w 


wm 


hJ    pursuits  of  the  people. 


149 


and  Missouri  than  in  the  other  states.  Ohio  has  gone  considerably  into 
the  culture  of  yellow  tobacco. — Tobacco  is  one  of  the  staples  of  Kentucky 
export.  Cattle,  hogs  and  horses  are  sent  to  New  Orleans  extensively 
from  Illinois  and  Missouri,  as  are,  also,  lead  and  peltries.  In  Arkansas, 
part  of  Tennessee,  all  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  cotton  is  the  chief  object 
of  cultivation.  Grains,  and  other  materials  of  nutriment,  are  only  raised 
in  subservience  to  this  culture.  The  cultivation  of  Louisiana,  and  a 
part  of  Florida,  is  divided  between  cotton  and  sugar. 

The  cultivation  in  all  the  states,  except  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois  is 
chiefly  performed  by  slaves,  of  whose  character,  habits  and  condition  we 
Iiave  yet  to  treat.  The  farms  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  are  generally  of 
moderate  size,  and  the  cultivators  do  not  materially  differ  in  their  habits 
from  those  of  the  northern  Atlantic  states.  In  Kentucky,  Ilhnois 
and  Missouri,  they  are  more  addicted  to  what  is  called  'cropping,' 
that  is,  devoting  the  chief  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  one  article. 
In  all  the  states,  save  those,  that  cultivate  cotton  and  sugar,  they 
mako,  on  an  average,  sixty  bushels  of  maize  to  the  acre:  and  the  cultiva- 
tion consists  in  ploughing  two  or  three  times  between  the  rows,  during 
the  growing  of  the  crop.  From  eighty  to  an  hundred  bushels  are  not 
an  uncommon  crop,  and  manuring  is  scarcely  yet  thought  of  in  cul- 
tivation. '' 'le  good  lands  in  Illinois  and  in  Missouri  yield  from  twenty 
five  to  thi'  3hels  of  wheat  to  the  acre.  The  cultivation  is  on  prairie, 
or  bottom  id;  and  as  the  soil  is  friable,  loose  and  perfectly  free  from 
stones,  and  on  the  prairies  from  every  other  obstruction,  farming  is  not 
laborious  and  difficult,  as  in  hard  rough,  and  rocky  grounds.  The  ease 
and  abundance,  with  which  all  the  articles  of  the  country  are  produced,  is 
one  of  the  chief  objects  of  complaint.  The  necessary  result  is,  that  they 
are  raised  in  such  abundance,  as  to  glut  the  market  at  New  Orleans,  and 
used  often  not  to  bring  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  of  transportation. 
All  this  has  been  recently  so  changed  by  the  effects  of  our  canals,  the 
rapid  influx  of  immigration,  and  the  levelling  tendency  of  the  increas- 
ed facilities  of  transport,  that  the  price  of  western  produce  is  fast  approx- 
imating the  Atlantic  value.  A  natural  result  of  this  order  of  things  will 
be,  that  the  west  will  soon  export  four  times  its  former  amount  of  flour, 
and  other  produce. 

From  the  cheapness  of  corn,  and  the  abundance  of  *  mast,'  as  it  is 
called,  in  the  woods,  hogs,  too,  are  easily  multiplied,  far  beyond  the 
wants  of  the  people.  Pork  is  becoming  one  of  the  great  staples  of  all 
die  western  states,  except  those,  that  grow  cotton  and  sugar.  Cincinnati 
is  decidedly  the  largest  pork  market  in  the  United  States.  Prodigious 
numbers  of  swine  are  slaughtered  there,  and  the  business  of  barrelling  it, 
and  curing  bacon  for  exportation  is  One  of  the  most  important  sources  of 


# 


"^-  ■^^■Hip?' l!LV!"lli 


150 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


^l 


its  trade.  Cattle,  and  swine  when  carried  to  New  Orleans  command  a 
fair  price.  Horses  arc  an  important  and  increasing  article  of  export. 
Orchards  north  of  30"^  prosper,  perhaps,  better  than  in  any  other  country; 
and  apples  and  cider  are  already  important  articles  of  exportation,  and 
will  soon  be  more  so;  for  no  where  do  apple  trees  grow  with  more  ra- 
pidity and  beauty,  and  sooner  and  more  amply  load  themselves  with  fruit. 
Venison  and  deer  skins,  honey  and  beeswax  are  commonly  received  in 
the  country  stores,  in  pay  for  goods.  From  Missouri,  peltries,  furs  and 
lead,  from  the  Illinois  mines,  and  from  those  in  the  Missouri  mine  region, 
are  the  chief  articles  of  present  export.  The  amount  of  export  of  these 
articles,  together  with  the  cotton  and  sugar  of  the  southern  country,  and 
the  prodigious  quantities  of  whiskey  from  all  tlie  western  states  will  be 
seen  by  recurrence  to  the  table  of  e.:ports.* 

Modes  of  conveyance  to  market.  Water  carriage,  &-c.  From  the 
northern  and  eastern  parts  of  this  valley,  no  inconsiderable  amount  of  the 
produce  and  articles  of  the  West  finds  its  way  to  tlie  eastern  country  by 
the  canals  and  on  the  lakes.  Cleveland  and  Sandusky,  on  lake  Erie,  are 
deriving  importance  from  being  places  of  shipment  from  Ohio  over  the 
lakes.  The  northern  garrisons  are  beginning  to  be  supplied  with  provi- 
sions from  Illinois  and  Missouri,  by  the  way  of  Chicago  and  lake  Michigan. 
Horses,  cattle  and  swine  to  a  large  amount,  are  driven  over  the  moun- 
tains from  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  So  early  as  1813-14,  in  one  year,  four 
thousand  and  fifty  five  transport  wagons  were  numbered  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Pittsburgh.  Many  of  tliem  found  a  return  load  of  articles  of  the 
West.  Much  of  this  transport,  which  has  vastly  increased  since  that 
time,  now  takes  place  on  the  great  Pennsylvania  canal,  which  wants  the 
completion  of  an  interval  of  no  great  distance  among  the  mountains,  to 
be  an  entire  water  communication  between  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh 
and  the  longest  continued  canal  in  the  United  States.  The  Ohio  and 
Erie  canal  is  nearly  complete,  and  greatly  adds  to  the  facility  of 
transport  from  the  west  to  the  east.  Rail  roads  will  concur  to  the  same 
result;  and  when  the  contemplated  rail-roads  and  canals  shall  be  in 
operation,  the  Western  country  will  be  placed  more  nearly  on  an  equality 
with  the  sea-board,  in  regard  to  a  market. 

At  present,  however,  the  greater  part  of  the  commercial  intercourse  of 
the  country  is  yet  with  New  Orleans,  by  the  rivers  and  the  Mississippi,  in 
boats.  Those  are  so  various  in  their  kinds,  and  so  curious  in  their  con. 
struction,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  reduce  them  to  specific  classes 
and  divisions.    No  form  of  water  craft  so  whimsical,  no  shape  so  out- 


4*  •-. 


*8ec  Appendix,  tabic  No.  VTI. 


« 


t^ 


-a' I 


rUIlSUITS    OP   THE    rEOI'LE. 


151 


l.iiulisJi,  can  well  be  imagined,  but  what,  on  descending  from  Pittsburgh 
to  Now  Orleans,  it  may  some  where  be  seen  lying  to  the  shore,  or  floating 
on  the  river.  The  New  York  canal  is  generating  monstrous  conceptions 
of  this  sort;  and  there  will  soon  be  a  rivalry  between  tlie  East  and  the 
West,  which  can  create  the  most  ingenious  floating  river  monsters  of 
passi.^fc  and  transport. 

The  barge  is  of  the  size  of  an  Atlantic  schooner,  with  a  raised  and  out- 
landish looking  deck.  It  had  sails,  masts  and  rigging  not  unlike  a  sea 
vessel,  and  carried  from  fifty  to  an  hundred  tons.  It  required  twenty-five 
or  thirty  hands  to  work  it  up  stream.  On  the  lower  courses  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, when  the  wind  did  not  serve,  and  the  waters  were  high,  it  was 
worked  up  stream  by  the  operation,  that  is  called  *  warping,*— a  most 
laborious,  slow  and  diflicult  mode  of  ascent,  and  in  which  six  or  eight 
miles  a  day  was  good  progress.  It  consisted  in  having  two  yawls,  the 
one  in  advance  of  the  other,  carrying  out  a  warp  of  some  hundred  yards 
in  length,  making  it  fast  to  a  tree,  and  then  drawing  the  barge  up  to  that 
tree  by  tlie  warp.  When  that  warp  was  coiled,  the  yawl  in  advance  had 
another  laid,  and  so  on  alternately.  From  ninety  to  an  hundred  days 
was  a  tolerable  passage  from  New  Orleans  to  Cincinnati.  In  this  way 
the  intercourse  between  Pittsburgh,  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  Nashville, 
and  St.  Louis,  for  the  more  important  purposes  of  commerce,  was  kept 
up  with  New  Orleans.  One  need  only  read  the  journal  of  a  barge  on 
such  an  ascent,  to  comprehend  the  full  value  of  the  invention  of  steam 
boats.  They  are  now  gone  into  disuse,  and  we  do  not  remember  to  have 
seen  a  barge  for  some  years,  except  on  the  water3  above  the  mouth  6f 
tJieOhio.  "'    "^^    -|p 

The  keel  boat  is  of  a  long;  slender  and  elegant  form,  and  generally 
carries  from  fifteen  to  thirty  tons.  Its  advantage  is  in  its  small  draft  of 
water,  and  the  lightness  of  its  construction.  It  is  still  used  on  the  Ohio 
and  upper  Mississippi  in  low  stages  of  water,  and  on  all  the  beatable 
streams  where  steam  boats  do  not  yet  run.  Its  propelling  power  is  by 
oars,  sails,  setting  poles,  the  cordelle,  and  when  the  waters  are  high,  and 
tlie  boat  runs  on  the  margin  of  the  bushes, '  bush-whacking,'  or  pulling  up 
by  the  bushes.  Before  the  invention  of  steam  boats,  these  boats  were 
used  in  the  proportion  of  six  to  one  at  the  present  time. 

The  ferry  flat  is  a  scow-boat,  and  when  used  as  a  boat  of  descent  for 
families,"  has  a  roof,  or  covering.  These  are  sometimes,  in  the  vernacu- 
lar phrase,  called  '  sleds.'  The  Alleghany  or  Mackinaw  skiff",  is  a  covered 
skifl",  carrying  from  six  to  ten  tons;  and  is  much  used  on  the  Alleghany, 
the  Illinois,  and  the  rivers  of  the  upper  Mississippi  and  Missouri.  Periogues 
are  sometimes  hollowed  from  one  very  large  tree,  or  from  the  trunks  of  two 
trees  united,  an^  fitted  with  a  plank  rim     They  carry  from  one  to  three 


-^ 


152 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


« 


Y'' 


tons.  There  are  common  skiffs,  canoes  and  <  dug-outs,^  fur  the  conve- 
nience of  crossing  the  rivers;  and  a  select  company  of  a  few  travellers 
oflen  descend  in  them  to  New  Orleans.  Hunters  and  Indians,  ond 
sometimes  passengers,  make  long  journeys  of  ascent  of  the  rivers  in 
them.  Besides  these,  tlicre  are  anomalous  water  crafts,  that  can  hardly 
be  reduced  to  any  class,  used  as  boats  of  passage  or  descent.  We  have 
seen  flat  boats,  worked  by  a  wheel,  which  was  driven  by  the  cattle,  that 
were  conveying  to  the  New  Orleans  market.  There  are  horse  boats  of 
various  constructions,  used  for  the  most  part  as  ferry  boats ;  but  sometimes 
as  boats  of  ascent.  Two  keel  boats  are  connected  by  a  platform.  A 
pen  holds  the  horses,  which  by  circular  movement  propel  wheels.  We 
saw  United  States^  troops  ascending  the  Missouri  by  boats,  propelled 
by  tread  wheels ;  and  we  have,  more  than  once,  seen  a  boat  moved 
rapidly  up  stream  by  wheels,  after  tlie  steam  boat  construction)  propelled 
by  a  man  turning  a  cranks 

But  the  boats  of  passage  and  conveyance,  that  remain  after  the  inven- 
tion of  steam  boats,  and  are  still  important  to  those  objects,  are  keel 
boats  and  flats.  The  flat  boats  are  called,  in  the  vernacular  phrase, 
*  Kentucky  flats,'  or  *  broad  horns.'  They  are  simply  an  oblong  ark, 
with  a  roof  slightly  curved  from  the  centre  to  shed  rain.  They  are  gen- 
erally about  fifteen  feet  wide,  and  from  fifty  to  eighty,  and  sometimes  an 
hundred  feet  in  length.  The  timbers  of  the  bottom  are  massive  beams; 
and  they  are  intended  to  be  of  great  strength;  and  to  carry  a  burden  of 
from  two  to  four  hundred  barrels.  Great  numbers  of  cattle,  hogs  and 
horses  are  convejed  to  market  in  them.  We  have  seen  family  boats  of 
this  description,  fitted  up  for  the  descent  of  families  to  the  lower  country, 
with  a  stove,  comfortable  apartments,  beds,  and  arrangements  for  com- 
modious habitancy.  We  see  in  them  ladies,  servants,  cattle,  horses, 
sheep,  dogs  and  poultry,  all  floating  on  the  same  bottom ;  and  on  the  roof 
the  looms,  plouglis,  spinning  wheels  and  domestic  implements  of  the 
family. 

Much  of  the  produce  of  the  upper  country,  even  after  the  invention 
of  steam  boats,  continues  to  descend  to  New  Orleans  in  Kentucky  flats. 
They  generally  carry  three  hands;  and  perhaps  a  supernumerary  fourth 
hand,  a  kind  of  supercargo.  This  boat,  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram, 
lying  flat  and  dead  in  the  water,  and  witli  square  timbers  below  its  bottom 
planks,  and  carrying  such  a  great  weight,  runs  on  a  sandbar  with  a 
strong  headway,  and  ploughs  its  limbers  into  the  sand;  and  it  is,  of 
course,  a  work  of  extreme  labor  to  get  the  boat  afloat  again.  Its  form 
and  its  weight  render  it  difficult  to  give  it  a  direction  with  any  power  of 
oars.  Hence,  in  the  shallow  waters,  it  often  gets  around.  When  it  has 
at  length  cleared  the  shallow  waters,  and  gained  the  heavy  current  of 


FUUSLITJ   or    THiJ    TKOI'IJ:. 


158 


the  Mississippi,  the  landiiifr  such  an  unwiohlly  water  cnft,  in  such  a 
current,  is  u  nuitlcrofno  litllcdillicnlty  and  daiirref. 

All  the  toil,  and  danfjer,  and  ox])osurp,  and  moving  accidents  of  this 
long  and  perilous  voyaj,'e,  arc  liiddcn,  howovur,  (Voni  tiic  iniiabitants,  who 
contemplate  the  boats  iloatinr^  by  their  dwellings  on  beautiful  spring 
mornings,  when  the  verdant  forest,  the  mild  and  delicious  tem|)eralure 
of  the  air,  the  delightful  azure  of  the  sky  of  this  country,  the  tiro  bottom 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  romantic  blulf  on  the  other,  the  broad  and 
smooth  stream  rolling  caln)Iy  down  tlie  forest,  and  lloaling  the  boat 
gently  forward,  present  dclightlul  images  and  associations  to  the  be- 
Jiolders.  At  this  time  there  is  no  visible  danger,  or  call  for  labor.  The 
boat  takes  care  of  itself;  and  little  do  the  beholders  imagine,  hov/  differ- 
ent a  scene  may  be  presented  in  half  an  hour.  Meantime  one  of  the 
hands  scrapes  a  violin,  and  the  others  dance.  (Jiroetings,  or  rude  defian- 
ces, or  trials  of  wit,  or  prolfers  of  love  to  the  girls  on  the  shore,  or  saucy 
messages,  arc  scattered  between  them  and  tlie  spectators  along  tho 
banks.  The  boat  glides  on,  until  it  disappears  behind  the  point  of 
wood.  At  this  moment,  perhaps,  the  bugle,  willi  which  all  the  boats  aro 
provided,  strikes  up  its  note  in  the  distance  over  tlie  wafer.  These  scenes, 
and  these  notes,  echoing  from  the  blulls  of  the  beautiful  Ohio,  have  a 
charm  for  the  imagination,  which  although  heard  a  thousand  times  re- 
peated, at  all  hours  and  in  all  positions,  present  the  image  of  a  tempting 
and  charming  youthful  existence,  that  naturally  inspires  a  wish  to  bo  a 
boatman. 

No  wonder,  that  to  the  young,  who  are  roared  in  tliesc  remote  regions, 
with  that  restless  curiosity,  which  is  fostered  by  solitude  and  silence, 
and  who  witness  scenes  like  this  so  frequently,  the  severe  and  unremit- 
ting labors  of  agriculture,  performed  directly  in  the  view  of  such  specta- 
cles, should  become  tasteless  and  irksome.  No  wonder,  that  the  young, 
along  the  banks  of  the  great  streams,  should  detest  the  labors  of  the  field, 
and  embrace  every  opportunity,  eiiuer  openly,  or,  it  minors,  covertly  to 
escape,  and  devote  themselves  to  the  pernicious  employment  of  boating. 
In  this  view  we  may  account  for  the  detestation  of  the  inhabitants,  along 
these  great  streams,  of  steam  boats,  which  are  continually  diminishing 
the  number  of  all  other  boats  and  boatinen,  and  which  have  already  with- 
dra'vn,  probably  ten  thousand  from  that  employment.  Wc  have  seen, 
what  is  the  character  of  this  employment,  notwithstanding  all  its  seduc- 
tions. In  no  employment  do  Ihc  hands  so  soon  wear  out.  It  is  compar- 
tively  but  a  few  years,  since  these  waters  have  l)een  navigated  in  any  way. 
Yet  at  every  bend,  and  every  high  point  of  the  rivers,  where  you  go  on 
shore  for  a  moment,  you  may  expect  to  see  the  narrow  mound,  and  the 
rude  mouumcnt,  and  the  coarse  mcinorial  carved  on  an  adjoining  tree  by 

•20 


i 


■  MIlll^iW^I"   i»|lHHHlll 


154 


niiffsiKMi'ri   \Ai.i.i;\. 


brother  boatmen,  to  mark  the  spot,  wliero  an  exiiaustcd  boatman  yielded 
his  breath  and  was  buried. 

The  bayou  at  New  Madrid  lias  an  cxlonsive  and  fine  eddy,  into  whiclj 
boats    float,    ahnost  withont  exertion,  and  land    in  a  remarkably  fine 
harbor.     It  may  be  fairly  considered  ihe  central  point,  or  the  chief  merid- 
ian of  boats  in  the  Mississippi  valley.     TJiis  bayou  frcnerally  brings  up 
the  descending  and  ascending  boats;  and  this  is  an  excellent  point  of 
observation,  from  which  to  contemplate  their  aspect,  the  character  of  boat- 
ing and  the  descriptions  and  the  amount  of  produce  from  the  upper 
country.     You  can  Jiere  take  an  imanriniiry  voyage  to  the  falls  of  St.  An- 
thony, or  Missouri ;  to  the  lead  mines  of  Hock  river,  or  to  Chichago  of  lake 
Michigan;  toTippicanoo  of  the  Wabash,  Orleannepoint  of  the  Allegha- 
ny, Brownsville  of  tlie  Monongalicla,  the  Saline  of  the  Kcnhawa,  or  the 
mountains,  round  whose  bases  winds  the  Tennessee ;  or,  if  you  choose, 
you  may  take  the  cheap  and  rapid  journey  of  thought  along  the  courses  of 
an  hundred  other  rivers;  and  in  the  lapse  of  a  few  days'  residence  in  the 
spring,  at  this  point,  you  may  see  boats,  which  have  arrived  here  from  all 
these  imagined  places.     One  hundred  boats  have  landed  here  in  a  day. — 
The  boisterous  gaiety  of  the  hands,  the  congratulations  of  acquaintances, 
who  have  met  here  from  immense  distances,  the  moving  picture  of  life  on 
board  the  boats,  in  the  numerous  animals,  large  and  small,  which  they 
carry,  their  different  ladings,  the  evidence  of  the  increasing  agriculture 
above,  and,  more  than  all,  the  immense  distances,  which  they  have  already 
traversed,  afford  a  copious  fund  of  meditation.     In  one  place  there  are 
boats  loaded  with  pine  plank,  from  the  pine  forests  of  the  southwest  of 
New  York.     In  another  quarter  there  arc  numerous  boals  with  the  'Yan- 
kee notions'  of  Ohio.     In  another  qiuirter  are  landed  together  the  boats  of 
*  old  Kentucky,'  with  their  whiskey,  hemp,  tobacco,  bagging  and  bale 
rope;  with  all  the  articles  of  the  produce  of  their  soil.     From  Tennes- 
see tliere  are  the  same  articles,  together  with  boats  loaded  with  bales  of 
cotton.     From  Illinois  and  Missouri,  cattle,  horses,  and  the  general  pro- 
duce of  the  western  country,  together  with  peltry  and  lead  from  Missouri. 
Some  boats  are  loaded  with  corn  in  bulk  and  in  the  ear.  Others  with  barrels 
of  apples  and  potatoes,  and  great  quantities  of  dried  apples  and  peaches. 
Others  have  loads  of  cider,  that  has  been  strengthened  by  boiling,  or  freez- 
ing. Other  boats  are  loaded  with  furniture,  tools,  domestic  and  agricultural 
implements;  in  short,  the  numerous  products  of  the  ingenuity,  specula- 
tion, manufacture  and  agriculture  of  the  whole  upper  country  of  the 
West.     They  have  come  from  regions,  thousands  of  mi'es  apart.     They 
have  floated  to  a  common  point  of  union. — The  surlace  of  the  boats 
cover  some  acres.    Dunghill  fowls  are  fluttering  over  the  roofs,  as  invari- 
able appendages.    TJie  piercing  note  of  tlic  chanticleer  is  heard. — The 


^«M«l|l^ 


ruusriTs  op  thu  i»i:oim,u. 


165 


cattle  low.  The  liorscs  trample,  as  in  tlicir  stables.  The  svvino  utter  the 
cries  of  li<,'htiM^'  with  each  utln;r.  'J'ho  turkeys  iroblde.  Tiie  (logs  of  an 
liundrcd  rc^'ioiis  become  acciuaintcil.  The  boatmen  travel  about  from 
boat  to  boat,  make  in<|iiirie.s  and  uc(|uaiiitanccs,  agree  to '  lush  boats,' as 
it  is  called,  and  form  alliances  to  yield  mutual  assistance  to  each  other  on 
the  way  to  New  Orleans.  After  an  hour  or  two  passed  in  this  way,  they 
spring  on  shore,  to  *  raise  the  wind'  in  the  village.  If  they  tarry  all  night, 
as  is  generally  the  case,  it  is  well  for  the  people  of  the  town,  if  they 
do  not  become  riotous  in  liie  course  of  the  evening;  in  which  case, 
strong  measures  are  adopted,  and  llic  proceedings  on  both  sides  are 
summary  and  decisive.  Witli  the  first  dawn  all  is  bustle  and  motion; 
and  amidst  .shouts,  and  tranij)ling  of  cattle,  and  barking  of  dogs,  and 
crowing  of  the  dunghill  fowls,  the  licet  is  in  a  half  an  hour  all  underway; 
and  when  the  sun  rises,  nothing  is  seen,  but  the  broad  stream  rolling  on 
as  before.  These  boats  unite  once  more  at  Natchez  and  New  Orleans; 
and  although  they  live  on  the  same  river,  it  is  imi)robable  that  they  will 
ever  meet  again  on  the  earth. 

In  passing  below,  we  often  see  a  niunber  of  boats  lashed,  and  floating 
together.  In  travelling  over  the  roofs  of  the  floating  town,  you  have  a 
considerable  walk.  These  associations  have  various  objects.  Boats 
so  united,  as  is  well  known,  float  considerably  faster.  Perhaps  the 
object  is  to  barter,  and  obtain  supplies.  Perhaps  it  is  to  kill  beef,  or 
pork,  for  fresh  jjrovisions.  Apple;?,  cider,  nuls,  dried  fruit,  whiskey, 
cider,  peach  brandy,  and  drams,  are  retailed;  and  the  concern  is  for  a 
while  one  of  great  merriment  and  good  will.  Unforeseen  moral  storms 
arise;  and  the  partnership,  which  began  in  a  frolic,  ends  in  a  quarrel. 
The  aggrieved  discharge  a  few  mutual  volleys  of  the  compliments,  usu- 
ally interchanged  on  such  occasions,  unlasli,  and  each  one  manages  his 
boat  in  his  own  way. 

The  order  of  things  in  tlie  western  country  naturally  fosters  a  propensity 
for  a  floating  life  on  the  water.  The  inhabitants  will  ultimately  become 
as  famous,  as  the  Chinese,  for  having  their  habitancy  in  boats.  In  time 
of  high  waters  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  we  wore  on  board  an  immensely 
large  flat  boat,  on  which  was  '  kept  a  town,'  which  had  figured  in  the 
papers,  as  a  place,  that  bade  fair  to  rival  the  ancient  metropolis  of  the 
Delta  and  the  Nile. — The  tavern,  (he  retail  and  dram  shops,  together 
with  the  inhabitants,  and  no  small  ninnbcr  of  very  merry  customers, 
floated  on  the  same  bottom.  Wc  have  soon  a  large  tinner's  establishment 
floating  down  the  Mississippi.  It  was  a  respectable  manufactory ;  and 
the  articles  were  sold  wholesale  and  retail.  There  were  three  apart- 
ments, and  a  number  of  hands.  When  they  had  mended  all  the  tin,  and 
vended  all,  that  they  could  sell  in  one  place,  they  floated  on  to  another. 


m 


;t  w 


150 


MISSISSIPPI   \  ai,m;v. 


A  piece  ^oodfl  store  nnilcil  with  a  liookstore  is  no  iinoonirnon  r'slnblisli- 
ment.  AVo  liavc  heard  of  a  l;ir<fc;  floalimr  Macksmilli's  cslublishtnonf ; 
and  of  another,  in  which  it  was  coiiloinphtcd  to  work  a  trip  ham  ncr. 
Besides  the  numerous  pcrio/riiea,  or  sinfjiilar  looking  Spanish  and  French 
trading  retail  boats,  commonly  crilled  'chicken  tliicvcs,'  wliich  scour  the 
rivers  within  an  hundred  h'rj^'ucs  of  New  Orleans,  there  arc  on  all  the 
waters  of  the  West  retail  lradini![  boats.  They  are  often  fitted  up  with  no 
inconsiderable  in^fcniiity  and  sliow,  'J'he  ;,foods  are  I'ancifully  arranged 
on  shelves.  The  delicate  hands  of  the  vender  would  bear  a  comparison 
with  those  of  the  spruce  clerk  behind  our  city  counters.  l-Iveiy  considera- 
ble landing  place  on  the  waters  of  tlie  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  has  in  the 
spring  a  number  of  stationary  and  inliabited  boats,  lying  by  at  the  shores. 
They  are  too  often  dram  sliops,  and  resorts  of  all  kinds  of  bad  company. 
A  severe  inquiry  ought  to  be  instituted  at  all  these  points,  respecting  the 
inmates  and  practices  of  these  floating  mansions  of  iniquity. 

There  is  no  portion  of  the  globe,  where  tiic  invention  of  steam  boats 
should  be  so  Jiighly  apjncciatcd,  as  in  tlic  valley  of  the  Mississippi.    This 
invention  deserves  to  be  estimated  the  most  memorable  era  of  the  West; 
and  the  name  of  the  inventor  ought  to  be  handed  down  with  glory  to  the 
generations  to  come.     No  triumph  of  art  over  the  obstacles  of  nature  has 
ever  been  so  complete.     But  for  this   invention,  this  valley  might  have 
sustained  a  nation  of  farmers  and  planters;  and  the  comtorts,  the  arts, 
refinements  and  intelligence  of  the  day  would  liave  made  their  way  slowly 
from  New  Orleans  to  the  likes,  tlic  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
Rocky  mountains.     Thousands  of  boatmen  would  have  been  slowly  and 
laboriously  warping,  and  rowing,  and  i)oling,and  cordelling  their  boats,  in 
a  three  months  trip  up  these  mighty  and  long  streams,  which  are  now 
ascended  by  steam  boats  in  ten  days.     It  may  be  safely  asserted,  that  in 
many  respects,  the  improvements  of  fifty  years  without   steam  boats, 
were  brought  to  this  country  in  live  years  after  their  invention.     The  dis- 
tant points  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississipi)i  used  to  be  separated  by 
distances  and  obstacles  of  transit  more  formidable,  in  the  passing,  than  the 
Atlantic.     These  points  are  now  brought  into  juxtaposition.     Distances 
on  the  rivers  are  not  indeed   annihilated ;  but  they  are  diminished  to 
about  an  eighth  of  their  former  extent;  and  their  diiliculties  and  dangers 
are  reduced  even  more  thin  that.     All  the  advantages  of  long  rivers, 
such  as  variety  of  soil,  climate,  in'oductioiis,  remain  divested  of  all  the 
disadvantages  of  distance  and  diUlculty  of  ascent.     The  day  that  com- 
memorates this  invention,  should  be  a  holiday  of  interest,  only  second  to 
that,  which  gave  birth  to  tlie  nation. 

It  is,  jierhaps,  necessary  to  have  something  of  the  exi)ericnce,  which 
we  have  had,  of  the  slowness,  tiilHculty  and  danger  of  propelling  boats 


I 


night. 


I'LllSLITii  or    Tlllk    I'DH'I.t. 


ir.7 


a|;nin8t  the  current  of  these  loni,'  rivers,  fully  to  c  sfiuiiile  the  ndvantnpcH 
of  this  invention. — Wo  have  ascended  llio  Mississippi  in  this  way  for 
fifty  days  in  succession.  We  hnvc  had  hut  too  nmch  of  Ihe  same  kind 
of  experience  on  the  other  slrcauis.  We  considered  ivu  miles  a  day,  as 
pood  progress.  It  is  now  refrcshinif,  and  it  imparls  a  feelnif.'  of  enei<,'y  and 
power  to  tlie  beholder,  to  sec  the  laryc  and  heautiful  steam  boats  scud- 
ding up  the  eddies,  as  thoii;,di  on  the  wiii;^'.  ^VIlen  they  have  run  out  tho 
eddy,  and  strike  tho  current,  it  is  a  still  more  noble  spectacle.  Tho 
foam  bursts  in  a  sheet  (piilc  over  the  deck.  The  boat  (piivers  for  a 
moment  with  the  concussion;  and  then,  as  Ihou^di  she  had  collected 
energy,  and  vanquished  her  enemy,  she  resumes  her  stately  march,  and 
mounts  against  the  current  five  or  six  miles  an  hour.  We  have  travelled 
ten  days  together  between  New  Orleans  and  T-ouisvillc,  more  than  an 
hundred  miles  in  a  day  against  the  stream.  The  difliculty  of  ascending 
used  to  be  the  only  one,  that  was  dreaded  in  the  anticipation  of  a  voyage 
of  this  kind.  This  difficulty  has  now  disappeared,  and  the  only  one, 
that  remains,  is  to  furnish  money  for  the  trip.  Kven  tlio  expense,  con- 
sidering the  luxury  of  the  fare,  and  accommodation,  is  more  moderate, 
than  could  be  expected.  A  family  in  Pittsburgh  wishes  to  make  a  social 
visit  to  a  kindred  family  on  Red  river.  The  trip,  as  matters  now  stand, 
is  but  two  thousand  miles.  Servants,  baggnge,  or  '  plunder,'  as  the  phrase 
is,  the  family  and  the  family  dog,  cat  and  parrot,  all  go  together.  In  twelve 
days  they  reach  the  point  proposed.  Even  the  return  is  but  a  short 
voyage.  Surely  we  must  resist  strong  temptations,  if  we  do  not  become 
a  social  people.  You  are  invited  to  a  breakfast  at  seventy  miles  distance. 
You  go  on  board  the  passing  steam  boat,  and  are  transported,  during  the 
night,  so  as  to  go  out  in  the  morning,  and  reach  your  appointment.  The 
day  will  probably  come,  when  the  inhabitants  of  the  warm  and  sickly 
regions  of  the  lower  points  of  the  Mississippi  will  take  their  periodical 
migrations  to  the  north,  with  the  geese  and  swans,  and  with  them  return 
to  the  south  in  ihe  autumn. 

We  have  compared  the  most  beautiful  steam  boats  of  the  Atlantic 
waters  with  those  of  the  Mississippi;  and  we  have  seen  none,  which  in 
splendor  and  striking  effect  upon  the  eye,  and  the  luxury  and  comfort  of 
accommodation,  surpass  the  Wasliington,  Philadelphia,  Lady  of  the  Lake, 
Florida,  and  some  others,  on  these  waters.  ^Ve  have  been  amused  in 
observing  an  Atlantic  stranger,  who  had  heard  us  described  by  the  phrase 
*  backwoods  men,'  taking  his  first  survey  of  such  a  steam  boat.  If  there 
be  any  ground  of  complaint,  it  is,  that  so  much  gorgeousness  offends 
good  taste,  and  seems  to  be  in  opposition  to  that  social  ease  and  comfort, 
which  one  would  desire  in  such  a  place.  Certainly,  there  can  be  no 
comparison  between  the  comfort  of  the  passage  from  Cincinnati  to  New 


if  IK  _ 


i 


168 


MT!"HIS«HIiM'I    VAT.LCV. 


Orleans  in  such  a  stcani  boat,  ;intl  !i  vnya»,'«>  iit  soa.  The  barren  nnil 
boundless  e,\|)anso  of  waters  soon  lirts  u))om  every  eye,  but  ii  Heainiin's. 
And  tlien  tliero  arc  Hlonns,  and  the  ru;ces.sity  of  Castenin;?  the  tables,  and 
of  holding?  to  sonuftliiii'/,  to  ker]»  in  bed.  There  is  the  insupportable 
nausea  of  sea  sickness,  and  lliere  is  (hnf,'er.  Here  you  aie  always  near 
the  shon>,  always  see  the  f,Meen  earlh;  can  always  eat,  write  and  study 
undisturbed.  You  can  always  obtain  cream,  fowls,  veyetajjles,  fruit,  fresh 
meat,  and  wild  jjanie,  in  their  season,  from  the  shore. 

A  stranf,'cr  to  this  mode  of  travelliii<,'  would  find  it  dillicult  to  describe 
his  impressions  upon  descendin^f  the  JMissisdippi  for  tlie  lirst  time  m  one 
of  these  steam  boats,  which  we  liave  named.  He  contemplates  the  pro- 
digious construction,  with  its  double  tiers  of  cabins,  and  its  separate 
establishment  for  the  ladies,  and  its  conunodious  arrangements  for  the 
deck  passengers  and  tiie  servants.  Over  head,  about  him,  and  below  him, 
uU  is  life  and  movement.  lie  contemplates  the  splendor  of  the  cabin,  its 
beautiful  finishing  of  the  richest  woods,  its  rich  carpeting,  its  mirrors  and 
fine  furniture,  its  sliding  tabh's,  its  bar  room,  and  all  its  arrangements  for  tlio 
accommodation  of  a  hundred  cabin  i)assengers.  The  fare  is  sumptuous, 
and  every  thing  in  a  style  of  splendor,  ortler  and  (juiel,  far  exceeding 
most  city  taverns.  You  read,  converse,  walk,  or  sleep,  as  you  choose. 
You  are  not  burdened  by  the  restraint  of  useless  ceremony.  The  varied 
and  verdant  scenery  shifts  about  you.  The  trees,  the  green  islands,  the 
houses  on  tlie  shore,  every  thing  has  an  appearance,  as  by  enchdntmenl, 
of  moving  past  you.  Tiie  river  fowl,  with  their  white  and  extended  lines, 
are  wheeling  their  flight  above  you.  The  sky  is  bright.  The  river  is 
dotted  with  boats  above,  beside,  and  below  you.  You  liear  the  echo 
of  their  bugle  reverberating  from  the  woods.  Behind  the  wooded  point 
you  see  the  ascending  column  of  smoke,  rising  over  the  trees,  whicli 
announces,  that  another  steam  boat  is  approaching  you.  The  moving 
pageant  glides  through  a  narrow  passage,  between  an  island,  thick  set 
with  young  cotton  woods,  so  even,  so  beautiful,  and  regular,  that  they 
seem  t-  Iiave  been  planted  for  a  pleasure  ground,  and  the  main  shore. 
As  you  shoot  out  again  into  the  broad  stream,  you  come  in  view  of  a 
plantation,  with  all  its  busy  and  cheerful  accompaniments.  At  other 
times  you  are  sweeping  along  for  many  leagues  together,  where  eitlier 
shore  is  a  boundless  and  pathless  wilderness.  A  contrast  is  thus  strongly 
forced  upon  the  mind,  of  the  highest  improvement  and  the  latest  pre-emi- 
nent invention  of  art  with  the  most  lonely  aspect  of  a  grand  but  desolate 
nature, — the  most  striking  and  complete  assemblage  of  splendor  and 
comfort,  the  cheerfulness  of  a  floating  hotel,  which  carries,  iicrhaps, 
hundreds  of  guests,  with  a  wild  and  uninhabited  forest,  it  may  be  an  hun- 
dred miles  in  width,  the  abode  only  of  bears,  owls  and  noxious  animals 


The 

connni 

Ked  rii 

of  circ 

boa  tab! 

Tennes 

cornmu 

gulf  of 

canal,  c 

the  wes 

birth,  an 

on  our  I 

New  Orl 

all  her  h 

into  vic\ 

witJi  hci 

nor  com] 

The  wh( 

region  b) 

greater  ir 

We  an 

the  tonna 

Civil 
more  pro: 
had  a  dird 
the  discoi 
sippi;  the 
western  c| 
first  settle 
of  the  rej 
the  Indial 
admissior 
boats;  thj 
subsequed 
The  fir] 
sippi  was 
Leon,  in 
allured  b^ 
those,  wl 


( iMi.  iiryroiiv. 


15U 


describe 
c  in  uiio 
the  pro- 
Hepuratc 
I  for  the 
tluw  hun, 
cabin,  its 
irrora  and 
its  for  the 
mptuous, 
•xceedin;,' 
u  choose, 
'lie  varied 
hmds,  tlic 
hantnient. 
ded  lines, 
he  river  is 
the  echo 
)(lud  point 
ees,  which 
lie  moving 
,  thick  set 
,  that  they 
lain  shore. 
I  view  of  a 
At  other 
rhere  either 
lus  strongly 
•st  pre-emi- 
lUt  desolate 
lendor  and 
!S,  perhaps, 
1  bo  an  hun- 
us  animals 


Tho  MiH.sissippi  may  be  fairly  ron^idcri^l,  as  the  yr^md  trunk  uf  walrT 
connniinicafiuii,  am!  the  Mi-^istairi,  illiiidi;-',  Oliio,  Wliitc,  Alliatl^'a.s  and 
Red  rivers,  lii*!  main  arteries.  I'acli  nf  llieae  njjaiii  Iiiih  its  own  nyst«'ni 
of  circulation.  To  tlio  jaken,  and  the  iinnienf«!  di.Mfnnces  of  the  lii;ihest 
boatnble  waters  of  thn  Alleghany,  Mouonu'aheh,  Kenlnwa,  Cmnlirrland, 
Tennessee,  Ya/oo,  Mississippi,  Missouri.,  Arkansas  and  lied  river.s,  add 
communications  with  ;dl  the  shores  and  rivers  of  the  nortlieni  lakrs,  the 
niilf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard  by  the  Ohio  and  Eri(! 
canal,  and  the  I'eunsylvi.nia  ca!iid;  and  the  numerous  cotme\i<»ns  of  all 
the  western  boatablc!  wati'is  by  canals,  to  uliicli  those  v.ill  naturally  j/ivo 
birth,  and  we  may  safely  assert,  that  this  valley  is  a  sample  entirely  by  itself 
on  our  globe  of  the  ease  and  extent  of  inland  water  communications. 
New  Orleans  can  not  have  less  than  '1(),()()()  miles  of  interior  navi/^'ation  on 
all  her  lakes,  bayous,  and  hundreds  of  beatable  streams;  without  takinj^ 
into  view  the  added  extent  of  the  northern  hdvcs,  which  will  be  connected 
with  her  by  tlie  Ohio  canal.  For  water  communication  t^lie  has  no  rival 
nor  compeer;  and  she  may  be  justly  denominated  the  ([ueen  of  rivers. 
The  whole  western  country  is  as  stronfrly  marked  olf  from  any  other 
region  by  the  number  and  extent  of  its  navigable  waters,  as  it  is  by  tho 
greater  magnitude  of  its  valley. 

Wo  annex  the  subjoined  table,  as  n  complete  list  of  tho  names  and 
the  tonnage  of  the  steam  boats  at  present  on  the  western  waters.* 

Civil  Histohy.  Our  plan  only  admits  a  very  brief  summary  of  the 
more  prominent  points  of  those  events,  which  may  be  supiwsed  to  have 
had  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  progress  of  the  West.  It  will  touch  upon 
the  discovery  and  settlement  of  Florida,  and  the  country  on  the  Missis- 
sippi; the  first  settlement  of  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  valley  by  tho 
western  extension  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  over  the  mountains;  the 
first  settlement  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky ;  those  incidents  in  the  war 
of  the  revolution,  that  occurred  in  the  West;  the  settlement  of  Ohio; 
the  Indian  war,  which  ensued  upon  that  settlement;  the  successive 
admission  of  the  western  states  into  the  union;  the  first  use  of  steam 
boats;  the  events  of  the  late  war,  which  happened  in  the  west;  and  its 
subsequent  improvement  and  prosperity. 

The  first  discovery  and  settlement  of  the  country  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi was  by  a  Spanish  squadron  from  Cuba,  commanded  by  Ponce  de 
Leon,  in  1512.  Successive  Spanish  adventurers  visited  the  country, 
allured  by  the  hope  of  finding  a  visionary  spring,  which  was  to  sustain 
those,  who  drank  of  it  in  perpetual  youth ;  or  the  same  harvest  of  golden 

*See  Appendix,  table  No.  VIII. 


,<:,.*' 


^-yf^pfv^^ 


foinKf^Bam^i^fsmex 


IGO 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


treasures  with  their  counlrymcn  in  Mexico  and  Peru.  The  Country 
though  not  fertile,  abounded  in  fish  and  game,  and  witli  tribes  of  fierce 
savages.  Vasqucz,  Narvaez,  and  Soto  successively  visited,  and  surveyed 
tlic  country.  The  French  commenced  a  small  settlement  near  St.  Au- 
gustine, in  1504.  It  was  cruelly  destroyed  by  the  Spaniards.  The 
establishment,  which  they  left  in  place  of  it,  was  in  turn  destroyed  by 
tlie  Frcncli. 

The  settlement  of  Canada  commenced  in  1008,  and  speedily  became 
a  strong  and  populous  colony.  The  honor  of  having  discovered  the 
Mississippi,  is  claimed  both  by  the  Spanish  and  the  French.  Marquette 
and  Jolicttc,  two  French  missioners  in  1703  were  probably  the  first 
Europeans,  who  exploied  the  river.  La  Salle,  a  year  or  two  afterwards, 
followed  their  track  from  Canada,  built  a  vessel  called  the  Griffin  on  the 
lake,  with  which  he  <r'\5scd  those  lonely  waters ;  descended  the  Missis- 
sippi ;  and  by  his  moiv.  'jxtendcd  survey,  his  greater  enterprize,  his  adven- 
tures and  misfortunes,  identified  his  name  with  the  Mississippi,  as  its 
discoverer. 

The  Spanisli  made  various  unsuccessful  efforts  to  form  establishments 
in  Florida.  They  renewed  those  efforts,  until  they  founded  a  feeble 
colony  in  East  Florida;  and  gradually  extended  their  settlements  from 
St.  Augustine  to  Pcnsacola  in  West  Florida.  They  had  been  in  undis- 
turbed possession  of  that  country  more  than  fifty  years,  before  the  French 
began  to  settle  the  Illinois  country.  Not  long  afterwards,  they  de- 
scended the  Mississippi,  and  formed  settlements  at  Biloxi  and  Mobile 
in  Florida.  It  was  some  time  afterwards,  that  they  founded  St.  Genevieve 
and  St.  Louis  on  the  west  shore  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Illinois  colony 
followed  the  chase  in  close  intimacy  with  the  Indians.  They  learned 
to  cultivate  maize  from  them;  and  in  their  exceedingly  teriile  country 
soon  introduced  the  cultivation  of  wheat. 

The  first  French  settlement  on  the  lower  Mississippi,  that  acquired 
importance,  was  that  made  at  New  Orleans,  in  1717,  which  became  the 
germ  of  the  respectable  colony  of  Louisiana.  The  early  periods  of 
Florida  and  Louisiana  are  marked  only  by  the  customary  incidents  of 
commencing  establisliments  in  the  American  wilderness.  Settlements  were 
commenced,  and  abandoned.  Frequent  quarrels  occurred  with  the  Indians 
m^dc  a  universal  feature  of  these,  in  common  with  all  other  similar 
beginnings.  When  France  and  Spain  were  at  war  as  happened  more 
than  once  during  these  annals,  these  remote  colonies  uniformly  felt  the 
effects.  Expeditions  against  each  other  were  fitted  out,  accompcnied  by 
all  the  Indian."',  they  could  enlist  under  their  standard. 

The  first   settlers  of  Illinois,  and  Missouri  were  chiefly  hunters  from 
Canada,  addicted  to  the  woods.     Louisiana  was  peopled  by  immigrants 


TheS 
proximit 
Havanna 
sionally 
to  give 
Agriculti 
tan  ts,  was 
exhaustlc 
provision! 
the  occas 
the  necej 
Illinois  6 
introduce! 
and  sugai 
cane  broi 
sumed  in 
Differer 
1700  the  1 
New  Orlei 
42,011,-  I 
the  Ameri 
Orleans  2^ 
Could  y 
colonists  0 
their  histoi 
French  in 
selves  witl 
first  from  i 
habit.  The 
Their  choi< 
dred  league 
to  settle  t\ 
for  -their 
vagrant  an 
though  a  In 
streets,  thai 
the,  way. 


CIVIL    IIISTOIIV. 


161 


directly  from  France,  many  of  whom  were  persons  of  rank  and  family. 
These  military  adventurers,  in  a  remote  country,  and  in  want  of  wives 
were  sometimes  supplied  by  young  ladies  selected  in  the  parent  country 
without  much  discrimination,  sent  over  the  sea,  and  married  in  mass  the 
first  night  of  their  arrival. 

The  Spanish  province  of  Florida  derived  its  chief  importance  from  its 
proximity  to  Cuba.  Cooler  and  healthier  than  the  burning  climate  of 
Havanna,  it  was  considered  a  retreat  from  that  city;  and  beside,  occa- 
sionally furnished  it  with  provisions.  Various  circumstances  concurred 
to  give  slavery  an  early  and  extensive  introduction  into  Louisiana. 
Agriculture,  though  among  the  last  objects  contemplated  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, was  forced  upon  tliem  by  circumstances.  Apparently  ignorant  of  the 
exhaustless  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  French  for  a  long  time  imported  their 
provisions  from  the  parent  country,  or  the  Spanish  colonies.  Wars  and 
the  occasional  suspension  of  their  intercourse  with  France  taught  them 
the  necessity  of  securing  a  less  precarious  subsistence  from  the  soil. 
Illinois  early  sent  down  flour  to  Louisiana.  The  culture  of  rice  was 
introduced  with  great  success,  to  which  were  afterwards  added  cotton 
and  sugar.  The  last  inii)ortant  article  was  first  cultivated  in  1751,  from 
cane  brought  fron.  Hispaniola.  It  was  abandoned,  and  effectually  re- 
sumed in  171)4  by  Etiennc  Bore,  a  planter  fron  Illinois. 

Different  enumerations  of  the  inhabitants  gave  results  as  follow.  In 
1769  the  population  of  upper  and  lower  Louisiana  was  13,538;  and  of 
New  Orleans  3,100.  In  1785,  32,114;  New  Orleans  4,980;  in  1788, 
42,611;  New  Orleans  5,338;  in  1810,  by  the  census  taken  by  order  of 
the  American  government,  Louisiana  alone  contained  76,506;  and  New 
Orleans  24,552.  ^  * 

Could  we  present  the  picture  of  the  pursuits  and  manners  of  the 
colonists  of  the  Mississippi  and  Florida,  in  the  commencing  periods  of 
their  history,  it  would  be  striking  from  its  freshness  and  simplicity.  The 
French  in  particular  were  rem:i'.k;vblc  for  a  talent  of  ingratiating  them- 
selves with  tlie  savages;  and  for  an  easy  amalgamation  with  them;  at 
first  from  natural  courtesy,  which  soon  became  a  real  inclination  and  a 
habit.  The  soil  was  fertile,  the  cliinale  miki,  and  tlie  chase  inexhaustible. 
Their  choice  of  selection  in  a  forest  or  prairie  extended  over  eight  hun- 
dred leagues;  unlike  other  Knropcan  immigrants,  wlio  generally  preferred 
to  settle  themselves  at  a  distance  from  each  other,  for  the  sake  of  range 
for -their  domestic  animals,  the  ^rench  mL'niieslcd  propensities  both 
vagrant  and  social,  and  eacli  in  tlie  highest  degree.  Tlieir  villages, 
though  a  hundred  leagues  from  each  oilier,  ^\■ere  built  with  such  narrow 
.streets,  that  the  villagers  could  carry  on  llicir  voluble  conversations  across 
the.  way.     It  gratified  their  national  ambition  (o  maintain  a  prepondcra- 

21 


*« 


•r 


*■ 


<ifi 


* 


^ 


■%' 


4: 


162 


Misi.sissii'ri  vau.lv. 


ting  inlliiencc  ainoii^  tlio  savage  tiibcs.  Tlio  purnuit  of  the  young  men 
was  to  ascend  the  long  rivers  for  furs  and  peltries,  and  to  negotiate 
marriages.  When  lliey  rolurnod,  d-.mces  and  copious  narratives  of  their 
adventures  and  exploits  signalized  their  lioliday  of  repose.  Such  is  an 
outline  of  the  modes  of  existence  of  the  French  in  these  early  times  in 
Kaskaskias,  Cahokia,  Vinccnncs,  St.  Genevieve,  St.  Louis,  St.  Charles, 
the  Post  of  Arkansas,  Natchitoches,  and  Natchez. 

At  New  Orleans  there  was  always  a  certain  number  of  people  of  fashion, 
a  kind  of  court,  a  theatre,  and  the  semblance  of  more  polished,  but  pro- 
bably less  happy  amusements.  Many  of  the  inhabitants  were  people  of 
family,  and  the  leading  men  military  characters.  The  first  settlers  of 
Louisiana  were  probably  of  higher  rank,  tiian  those  of  any  other  colony 
in  North  America,  if  we  except  Mexico. 

The  lower  classes  had  their  dogs  and  guns,  and  Indian  beauties ;  and 
to  accommodate  their  vagrant  propensities,  there  were  rivers  of  a  thou- 
sand leagues  to  ascend.  An  unexplored  and  unbounded  forest  full  of 
game  opened  suflicient  scope  to  their  imagination  and  enterprise.  It  was 
perhaps  a  fortunate  trait  in  their  character,  certainly  an  amiable  one,tliat 
they  were  so  easy  in  forming  associations  with  the  savages,  the  only  com- 
panions, they  could  expect  in  these  remote  deserts,  where  they  heard 
from  France  seldom  more  than  once  in  a  year.  Their  descendants,  who 
inhabit  these  regions,  speak  of  their  fathers  as  a  favored  race  of  mortals, 
and  of  those  times,  as  a  golden  age. 

From  New  Orleans  and  Mobile  the  exports  were  considerable,  consist- 
ing of  cotton,  indigo,  peltry,  furs,  hides,  tallow,  pitch,  tar,  ship  timber 
and  other  raw  materials.  The  coast  above  New  Orleans  was  already 
beginning  to  be  that  highly  cultivated  district,  which  it  has  since  become. 
The  agriculture  and  exports  went  on  steadily  advancing,  during  all  its 
political  changes  and  transfers. 

The  settlements  of  the  Mississippi  valley  began  in  its  southwest  and 
northeast  extremities,  the  one  point  two  thousand  miles  remote  from  the 
other.  From  these  points,  the  population  gradually  extended,  until  they 
met  in  the  centre. 

Pittsburgh,  at  first  occupied  by  the  French,  and  called  Duquesne,  and 
afterwards  Fort  Pitt,  may  be  considered  the  hive,  or  parental  stock  of 
the  Anglo  American  settlements  in  the  western  country,  which  have  out- 
numbered the  population  of  the  much  more  ancient  French  settlements  of 
Illinois  and  Louisiana,  in  the  proportion  of  fifty  to  one.  There  were  a 
few  sparse  settlements  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Ohio  and  Monongahela, 
as  early  as  17.^)0.  These  settlements  were  made  under  the  sanction  of 
the  English  Ohio  company,  expressly  with  the  purpose  to  restrain  the 
French  encroachments  in    that  quarlcr.    lu  pursuance  of  Ihcir  plan 


•- 


> 


tlVMi  insTouv. 


163 


to  connect  tlicir  settlomeiits  in  (Jiuiada  anil  liOiiiriiiinn,  they  liad  estab- 
lished a  fort  at  the  junction  ol"  Ihc  Alle«.rhany  and  Monon^'aheia.  In 
17{)3  this  establishment  fell  into  the  hands  of  lh«i  English,'ind  its  name 
was  clianged  from  fort  Dnqnesno  to  F(nt  Pitt,  Tlic  convenience  and 
importance  of  its  position  soon  attracted  a  considerable  number  of  inhab- 
itants. Red  Stone,  now  Brownsville,  iKMfan  the  settlements  on  tho 
Monongahela.  These  two  towns  were  the  nuelei:s  of  the  establishments 
in  West  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 

As  early  as  1750,  tlie  Frenchjiad  established  some  small  posts  on  the 
Alabama,  Tombigbec  and  Teinicsscc  rivers.  In  1757,  the  English  built 
fort  Loudon  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Liitle  Tennessee,  near  the  mouth 
of  Tellico  river.  Tlic  object  w;is  to  secr.ro  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Ten- 
nessee against  the  occn])ation  of  the  French,  as  an  asylum  for  American 
immigrants;  and  to  defend  the  frontier  settlements  against  the  invasions 
of  the  savages.  In  1760,  this  fort  was  takcui  by  the  Cherokoes;  and 
three  hundred  men,  women  and  children  were  slain,  and  all  the  angle 
American  inhabitants  of  Teimesscc  destroyed. 

In  1701  colonel  Grant  led  a  strong  force  into  tho  Cherokee  country, 
chastised  the  savages,  and  compelleil  lliem  to  sue  for  peace.  From  that 
time  immigrants  from  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  began  to  find  their  way 
into  the  country,  and  to  name  the  mountains  and  rivers.  Tliese  hunters 
and  adventurers  broadened  the  circle  of  population,  and  gradually  pene- 
trated into  the  interior  of  Fast  Tennessee. 

The  first  settlement  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  were  nearly  cotcmpo- 
raneous.  The  name  of  the  famous  Dajiiel  Boone  is  identified  with  the 
discovery  and  settlement  of  both.  Kentucky  was  first  exi>lored  by  Finley 
from  North  Carolina  in  1707.  Finley,  Boone,  Ilarrod  and  Logan  arc 
among  the  conspicuous  names  of  tho  hardy  primitive  adventurers  into 
this  fertile  wilderness.  Sevier,  Tipton  and  Blonnt  hold  the  same  rank 
among  the  precursors  in  the  settlement  of  Teiuiessee. 

Few  colonies  have  existed,  that  can  produce  aiuials  of  deeper  interest, 
than  those  which  record  the  origiji  and  progress  of  these  states.  The 
patriarchal  pioneers  of  these  backwoodsmen,  were  people  of  a  [leculiar 
and  remarkable  order,  trained  by  circumstances  to  a  character,  which 
united  force,  hardihood,  and  energy  in  an  astonishing  degree.  Opinion 
has  generally  invested  liiem  with  a  predominance  of  rough  traits,  and 
rustic  habits  approximating  the  character  of  the  Indians.  They  were  in 
fact  as  much  distinguished  by  an  aiuph;  bnsis  of  gentlemanly  character, 
and  chivalrous  notions  of  honor  and  justice,  as  for  strength,  firmness  and 
bravery. 

There  is  an  indescribable  chavni  in  becoming  intimately  acquainted 
with  these  noble  founders  of  the  onpin;  of  the  west,  from  their  first  fix 


? 


.1, 


,-*^A. 


^ 


mf, 


-Cj- 


164 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


t 


ing  their  families  in  the  selected  spot  in  thfc  forest,  through  their  conflicts 
with  the  Indians,  the  difficulties  incident  to  solitude,  distance  from  all 
social  comforts,  and  exposuro  to  all  the  dangers  of  a  strange  climate; 
until  their  cabins  arc  reiihiccd  hy  Iiouses,  and  their  houses  by  mansions; 
until  their  stations  arc  converted  to  villages  and  the  villages  to  towns; 
and  until  these  sparse  bcgiiniings  in  the  unexplored  wilderness  full  of 
savages  and  wild  beasts  become  powerful  states.  Imagination  would 
recoil  from  the  dreary  uniforinily  of  these  early  annals,  in  recording  Indian 
assaults,  burnings,  murders,  and  all  the  ruthless  manifestations  ofunpity- 
ingand  unsparing  savage  vengeance,  were  not  the  picture  relieved  by  the 
reckless  heroism  of  the  undaunted  spirits,  that  put  a  strong  and  cheerful 
hand  to  the  first  improvements,  every  moment  surrounded  by  these 
savages. 

Four  counties  were  constituted  by  law  in  Kentucky  in  178.3.  Boons- 
borough,  Ilarrodsburg,  Limestone,  now  Maysville,  Louisville,  and 
Lexington  were  among  the  earliest  and  most  conspicuous  foundations  in 
Kentuf'ky.  Knoxville  and  Naslivillc  sustain  the  same  relation  to  the 
early  history  of  Tennessee,  the  former  being  settled  in  1782,  and  the 
latter  in  1784.  Among  the  records  of  Indian  assault  and  revenge  the 
severest  disaster  in  the  history  of  the  settlement  of  Kentucky  is  that  of 
the  defeat  of  the  Kentuckians  at  the  Blue  Licks  in  1782,  in  which  sixty- 
one  were  slain  and  eight  made  prisoners.  The  first  newspaper  printed 
in  Kentucky  was  printed  at  Lexington  August  1787. 

As  early  as  1785,  the  people  of  Kentucky  began  to  discuss  the  expe- 
diency of  becoming  an  independent  state.  No  little  difficulty  occurred 
in  settling  the  preliminary  arrangements,  and  obtaining  the  unqualified 
assent  of  Virginia,  the  parent  state. 

In  pursuing  measures  to  become  an  independent  state,  Tennessee 
found  more  difficulty  than  Kentucicy.  Beside  the  same  opposition  from 
North  Carolina,  as  Kentucky  encountered  from  Virginia,  the  people 
were  divided  among  themselves.  A  portion  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
wished  to  establish  a  state  indcpcndent'of  the  consent  of  North  Carolina, 
the  parent  state,  constituted  themselves  into  a  republic  called  Frankland. 
After  an  inefficient  war  of  words  with  the  authorities  of  North  Carolina, 
and  after  some  blood  had  been  spilt  in  the  cause,  the  new  republic  was 
merged  in  the  state  of  Tennessee,  which  was  admitted  into  the  union  in 
1796.  The  annals  of  East  and  West  Tennessee,  present  a  dreary  series 
of  Indian  murders,  sometimes  of  individuals,  sometimes  of  whole  fami- 
lies down  to  as  late  a  period,  as  three  or  four  years  after  the  establish- 
ment of  the  federal  government.  Imagination  can  scarcely  realize,  tliat 
in  this  great  and  powerful  state,  now  so  prominent  a  member  of  the  con- 
federacy, the  Indian  war  whoop  and  the  shrieks  of  assailed  women  and 


^' 


.« 


CIVIL    IIISTOIIY. 


1G5 


cliiltlrcn  were  heard,  and  the  blaze  of  housv^s  and  settlements,  wliiclitlio 
Indians  had  fired,  were  seen,  after  the  year  1700,  and  in  districts,  wliero 
Indians  are  now  as  seldom  soon,  as  in  Washington  or  Philadelphia.  The 
first  Tennessee  newspaper  was  printed  at  Rogcrs\ illo,  ia  November 
1791.     It  was  called  the  Knoxville  Gazette. 

The  most  prominent  trait  of  character  in  the  people  of  tliese  two 
states  from  the  commencement  was  a  sturdy  spirit  of  independence,  and 
the  most  vigilant  jealousy  of  their  rights.  These  traits  were  abundantly 
put  forth  in  their  discussions  with  tlicir  parent  states,  touching  the 
qucslicn  of  their  separation;  in  tlic  guarded  manner  in  which  tliey 
weighed  the  extent,  the  right  and  influence  of  federal  jurisdiction,  and  in 
their  extreme  sus])icion,  touching  tlie  manner,  in  which  congress  vindi- 
cated their  claims  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

Tiie  commencement  of  the  great  state  of  Ohio,  at  present  the  fourth  in 
point  of  size  in  the  Union,  and  completing  the  chain  of  population  be- 
tween the  eastern  and  western  divisions  of  the  settled  portion  of  this 
valley,  was  of  still  more  recent  date.  The  progress  of  this  great  state 
!ias  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  colonies,  in  point  of  advancement  in  na- 
tional wealth,  population,  strength  and  improvement  of  every  kind. 
Forty  years  since,  it  was  in  the  occupation  of  savages.  It  now  numbers 
a  million  of  inhabitants,  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  militia,  two  canals, 
one  over  three  hundred  miles  in  length,  one  considerable  and  rapidly 
advancing  city,  a  great  number  of  towns,  and  a  hundred  populous  villa- 
ges. Handsome  houses  are  springing  up  every  year.  Large  manufjic- 
turing  establishments,  arc  constantly  arising,  emulating  the  same  order 
of  things  in  the  Atlantic  country.  A  mass  of  farmers  is  spread  over  the 
whole  state,  rich  in  rural  abundance,  in  simplicity  of  manners,  and  the 
materials  of  genuine  independence.  Of  its  schools,  colleges,  manufacto- 
ries and  national  improvements,  any  state,  liowever  advanced  in  im- 
provement, might  be  proud.  All  this  progress  has  been  from  an  innate 
principle  of  vigor,  without  the  forcing  aid  of  speculation,  opulence,  or 
power;  and  is  a  triumph  so  recently  won  from  the  forest,  that  on  all  sides 
we  still  see  the  remains  of  the  original  trees  in  the  fields. 

The  order  of  settlement  in  this  state,  as  iffasliioned  from  that  of  the 
Mississippi  valley,  commenced  almost  at  the  same  time  in  its  eastern 
and  western  extremities.  As  Franco  claims  tlie  paternity  of  the  settle- 
ments along  the  course  of  the  ]\lissisyip])i,  and  North  Carolina  and  Vir- 
ginia, of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  Oliio  may  be  considered  iheoflspring 
of  New  England  and  New  Jersey.  The  famous  wagon  which  cavr'ed  out 
the  first  settlers  from  Massachusetts  to  Ohio,  started  in  1788.  General 
Putnam  and  Dr.  Cutler  may  be  estimated  the  pioneers  of  the  settle- 
ment of  Marietta. 


u 


166 


MISSISSIPPI    A  ALLEV. 


b 


Judge  Symmes,  with  a  number  of  settlers  from  New  York,  New  Jer- 
sey and  and  western  Pennsylvania  commenced  the  settlement  between 
the  two  Miamies,  as  tiie  point,  which  is  now  Columbia,  in  November 
1789.  Fort  Washington  was  established  on  the  present  site  of  Cincinnati 
in  the  same  year.  This  establishment  was  the  germ  of  the  town,  wliich 
was  originally  called  Losantiville.  liudlow,  Filson,  Denman  and  Patter- 
son were  the  original  purchasers  of  the  town  plat.  In  1789  the  settlement 
numbered  twenty  log  cabins,  two  marriages  were  celebrated,  and  the 
first  child  was  born.  Tlie  first  court  was  organized  in  171)0,  and  the 
name  of  the  place  changed  to  Cincinnati. 

The  settlements,  thus  commenced  at  Marietta  and  Cincinnati,  rapidly 
extended  on  every  side,  until  checked  by  the  Indian  war  in  1701.  From 
that  period  commenced  the  same  gloomy  and  uniform  series  of  Indian 
massacres,  assaults  and  burnings,  that  signalized  the  beginnings  of  ail 
the  American  settlements.  The  disastrous  campaign  of  General  St. 
Clair  for  a  while  arrested  the  progress  of  the  settlements.  ]\Iany  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Cincinnati  were  killed  in  tliat  campaign,  and  many  other 
settlers  moved  for  security  into  Kentucky,  wliich  had  attained  a  compact- 
ness of  population  to  be  fearless  of  Indian  assault.  The  glorious  cam- 
paign of  Wayne  succeeded;  and  an  end  was  put  to  tliis  sanguinary 
warflire  in  1795. 

From  this  time,  there  was  a  rush  of  immigration  towards  the  Ohio 
valley.  The  wonderful  tale  of  western  exuberance  once  more  circulated 
with  effect  along  the  wliole  rango-  of  the  Atlantic  country.  It  was  no 
longer  counterbalanced  by  the  dread  of  the  Indian  scalping  knife.  All 
the  great  roads  of  approach  to  the  western  country  were  crowded  with 
adventurers  directing  their  course  towards  the  land  of  promise;  and 
fleets  of  boats  were  continually  floating  them  down  the  Ohio.  The 
setiJements  diverged  from  Marietta  on  the  one  hand,  and  Cincinnati  on 
the  other  towards  the  height  of  land  between  the  OJiio  and  the  lakes. 

Connecticut  Reserve  was  settled  chiefly  from  Connecticut.  The  ex- 
traordinary fertility  of  the  Scioto  valley  early  attracted  inhabitants.  The 
country  on  the  Great  Miami,  from  Cincinnati  to  Dayton,  and  thence  to 
Urbanna  soon  became  populous;  and  the  great  outline  of  the  state  of 
Ohio  rapidly  filled  with  inhabitants,  and  ihc  noiseless  and  powerful 
march  of  industry  transformed  the  silence  of  the  forest  to  cultivation, 
farms,  villages  and  towns. 

The  first  territorial  legistaturc  met  at  Cincinnati  in  1709.  Repre. 
seniatives  from  Detroit  and  Kaskaskias,  eight  hundred  miles  apart,  were 
present.  The  act  of  Congress  admitting  Ohio  into  the  union,  was  passed 
in  1801;  and  in  1803,  the  present  constitution  of  the  state  went  into 
operation. 


CIVIL    IllsTOltV. 


107 


ssr 


It  rilioulil  liiivc  sooinod,  that  lliis  vast  country  of  forests  and  pralriea 
ill  tli(^  iafciior  of  tli(;  continent,  so  rccontly  and  sparsely  settled,  ought 
<i)  have  avoided  the  horrois  of  war.  Such  ha?4  not  been  its  fortune. 
Ikside  its  constant  exposure,  in  all  directions,  to  the  covert  ambush 
and  the  licrco  assault  of  the  savages,  its  shores  have  been  abundantly 
.stained  with  the  blood  of  men  of  our  own  race,  broufjht  here  by  the 
cupidity  and  rcvcnn;cof  corrupt  princes,  separated  from  it  by  an  ocean; 
and  who  received,  and  inllicted  death  in  these  remote  regions  for  causes, 
in  which  lliey  had  no  personal  concern. 

We  shall  present  some  of  the  more  important  military  events,  that  have 
occurred  in  the  west,  in  the  unprclcndinfr  form  of  annals. 

War  existing  between  France  and  Si)ain,  Pensacola  was  invaded  by 
a  French  expedition,  aided  by  four  hundred  Indians,  in  1719.  Two 
vessels  of  war  invested  it  by  sea.  The  Spanish  governor  surrendered 
on  condition,  that  the  garrison  should  be  transported  to  Ilavanna.  It 
was  re-taken  the  same  year  by  a  Spanish  fleet. 

The  general  massacre  of  the  French  at  Natchez  by  the  Indians  hap- 
pened November  1729.  Never  was  vengeance  so  complete.  The  town 
was  crowded  with  people  assembled  to  witness  a  great  savage  festival. 
The  garrison  was  fdlcd  with  warriors  introduced  without  suspicion.  At 
a  given  signal  the  massacre  commenced.  Of  seven  hundred  people 
scarcely  enough  were  left  to  carry  the  tidings.  The  settlements  on  the 
Yazoo  and  Washita  shared  the  same  fate.  The  French  retaliated  this 
massacre  by  nearly  cxtir])ating  the  whole  nation  of  the  Natchez. 

A  remnant  of  this  people  took  shelter  with  the  Chickasaws,  and  were 
demanded  by  die  French  .  The  Chickasaws,  in  alliance  with  the  English, 
refused  to  yield  them.  Bienville  led  a  French  expedition  from  Mobile 
against  them,  which  was  aided  by  an  auxiliary  French  force  from  Illinois. 
Both  the  invading  forces  were  defeated  by  the  Chickasaws.  Another 
expedition  by  the  same  oflicer  with  a  greater  force,  was  equally  un- 
successful. 

In  pursuance  of  their  plan,  to  surround  the  English  colonies  on  the 
Atlantic  sea  board  by  a  lino  of  posts  connected  by  water  communica- 
tions, from  the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  the  French, 
widi  equal  energy  and  ingenuity  had  arranged  a  chain  of  posts,  portages, 
roads  and  alliances  with  the  Indians,  which  kept  up  an  easy  and  unbroken 
connection  between  Canada  and  Louisiana.  It  was  drawn,  as  a  bow 
string,  directly  in  the  rear  of  the  whole  English  colonial  line  of  settle- 
ments. It  was  an  important  part  of  this  chain,  to  add  to  it  a  communi- 
cation between  lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio.  For  this  purpose,  the  French 
established  a  fort  on  a  water  of  the  Alleghany  river,  intermediate  between 
lake  Erie  and  tho  Ohio.     TiiC  connection  waa  completed  by  the  erection 


■^     ::^V 


m 


■*•» 


'V- 


^- 


■ik. 


108 


MISPISSTri'I    VALTillV. 


of  Fort  Duqticsnc  at  tho  point,  wlioro  llio  junction  of  (ho  Allo<,'lmny  and 
Mononfffiliela  forms  the  Ohio,  the  present  site  of  Piltshurgh. 

General  Brndtlock,  wivh  a  considerable  body  of  regular  troops,  aided 
by  a  force  of  provincials  under  General  VVasiiin<,'ton,  was  ordered  to  cross 
the  Alleghany  mountainn,  and  attack  this  fort.  Obstinately  attached  to 
the  regularity  of  European  tactics,  ajiainst  the  advice  of  men  experienced 
in  Indian  warfare,  the  Biilish  general  marclicd  in  the  depth  of  the  forest, 
into  an  ambush  of  French  and  Indians  concealed  among  the  trees.  A 
masked  and  murderous  iire  was  opened  upon  them  from  behind  the  trees. 
In  vain  he  charged  an  invisible  enemy  with  tJie  bayonet.  lie  was  mortally 
Wounded,  his  force  d  jfeated,  and  the  greater  portion  slain.  Here  Gen- 
eral Washington  developed  the  first  traits  of  liis  military  character.  Two 
horses  were  killed  under  him,  and  four  balls  passed  through  his  coat. 
Calm  and  self  possessed,  the  shield  of  providence  seemed  to  be  cast  over 
him.  It  was  owing  to  his  skill  and  management,  that  any  part  of  Brad- 
dock's  force  was  saved. 

At  this  tinK)  tlie  eventful  victory  of  Wolfe  upon  the  heights  of  Abraham 
settled  the  momentous  question,  which  of  the  nations,  France  or  England, 
should  have  the  ascendency  in  the  future  destinies  of  this  continent. 
Never  were  more  eventful  consequences  decided  by  tlie  issue  of  one 
combat,    a? 

But  the  French,  thougli  suliducd  in  Canada,  still  retained  the  ascend- 
ency of  their  influence  over  the  savages,  instigated  by  them,  the  Chero- 
kces  slaughtered  the  English  settlors  and  traders  upon  the  frontiers  of 
the  Carolinas.  Tiie  provincials,  to  tlie  number  of  twelve  hundred^ 
marched  into  the  country  of  the  Chcrokees,  and  inflicted  an  ample 
vengeance. 

The  Indians  in  their  turn  attacked  Fort  Loudon  in  Tennessee.  It 
surrendered  to  them;  and  they  violated  the  convention,  by  a  ruthless  and 
indiscriminate  murder  of  men,  women  and  children.  Some  of  the  males 
Were  burned  at  a  slow  fire,  into  which  their  cliildrcn  were  thrown;  and 
the  mothers  were  carried  into  a  captivity  worse  tlitin  death. 

Tlie  war  between  Great  Britain,  Franco  and  Spain  closed  in  IKVi. 
Canada  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  and  Louisiana  to  Spain.  The  Span- 
ish commenced  their  rule  in  that  country  by  an  act  of  wanton  and  gratu- 
itous cruelty,  executing  six  distinguished  Loulsianians,  who  had  opposed 
the  Spanish  occu])ation  of  the  government,  and  sending  six  others  to  the 
dungeons  of  Ilavanna.  ^,.. 

By  this  treaty  Florida  had  been  coded  by  Spaiji  to  the  English.  A 
British  regiment,  descending  tlie  Mississippi,  to  take  possession  of  the 
ceded  territory,  was  attacked  by  the  Tunica  Indians,  near  the  site  of 
Fort  Adams;  Major  Loftus,  the  commonder,  wns  killed,  and  most  of  the 


I 


^1,*' 


'■^'i 


^ 


m 


i^r 


civil.  iiisTonv. 


109 


rpf'imcnt  nlain.    Tliis  (Visastrr  is  coiriineinoralcd  by  giving  his  name  to 
flic  conspicu()i;s  lioiulits  on  the  IMiHsissippi,  where  lie  loll. 

An  inlcrval  of  nine  years  of  i)f>!ico,  ns  regarded  the  quarrels  of  the 
diflfcrcnt  Kuropoan  cohmi.sts,  succeeded.  During  this  peace,  the  western 
Indians,  if  they  did  not  share  it,  were  in  some  degree  restrained  in  Uie 
extent  of  their  assaults  and  ravages;  and  tlic  western  forests  and  prairies 
were  peopling  in  silence  by  Europeans,  or  their  descendants. 

At  the  dose  of  this  interval,  coiuiuencod  the  war  of  the  American 
revolution.  TJie  French  and  Spanisli,  in  these  remote  colonies,  were 
soon  drawn  into  tlio  contest.  Tho  Spanish,  as  the  allies  of  the  French, 
made  their  first  cllbrt  against  thu  British  Colony  of  Florida,  their  ancient 
possession. 

Galvez,  tho  Spanish  governor  of  Louisinna,  assailed  Baton  Rouge  with 
two  thousand  three  hundred  men,  aided  by  battering  cannon.  The  British 
garrison  of  five  hundred  men  was  obligc-d  to  surrender.  Flushed  by  this 
success,  in  1780  ho  fitted  out  a  nival  expedition  against  Mobile,  which 
also  surrendered  to  his  forces. 

A  formidable  Spanisli  llect,  vvitli  twelve  thousand  troops  on  board,  soon 
after  sailed  from  Cuba,  to  attempt  the  recapture  of  the  whole  province 
of  Florida;  and,  although  the  fleet  exi)cricnced  the  most  signal  disasters 
from  sickness  and  storms,  Pensacola  was  taken  from  the  British,  and  the 
whole  province  was  conquered. 

Upper  Louisiana  was  little  aflbctcd  by  this  war,  until  near  its  close. 
In  1780  an  exi)edition  of  Englisli  and  Indians  from  Canada  by  way  of 
the  lakes  assailed  the  peaceful  French  establishments  in  Missouri.  St. 
Louis  was  taken,  plxty  of  the  inhabitants  slain,  and  thirty  made  prisoners. 
The  French  of  that  vicinity  still  distinguish  that  disastrous  event  by  the 
era  of  Pannce  du  coup. 

They  were  delivered  from  tiieir  invaders  by  a  respectable  force  under 
the  command  of  the  gallant  American  General  Clark.  The  expedition 
under  this  veteran  commander  had  been  fitted  out  chiefly  by  Virginia,  and 
ordered  into  these  distant  regions  to  repel  the  invasion  of  the  English 
and  Indians  as  (ax  as  possible  from  her  frontiers,  which  were  supposed  to 
be  the  whole  western  country.  General  Clark  descended  the  Ohio  with 
a  regiment  of  infantry  and  a  troop  of  cavalry.  Part  of  his  force  marched 
by  land  from  Louisville,  and  in  the  endurance  of  incredible  hardships, 
advanced  through  the  swamps  and  ices  of  the  drowned  lands  of  the 
Wabash,  and  met  the  other  part  of  the  force,  that  had  made  its  way  down 
the  Ohio  and  up  the  Wabash  by  water,  before  Vincennes,  which  was  in 
possession  of  a  considerable  British  force.  That  force,  completely  sur- 
prised, surrendered  at  discretion,  and  suffered  a  severe  retaliation  for 


22 


^,  ^v 


% 


170 


i»iississipri  VAM.r.Y. 


|i 


tlioir  cnicltios.  Gcncml  Clark  unkfinncllrxl  il»o  s.ivn^Ts  from  Iheir  lurk- 
ing places  in  tlicso  qurrtors,  and  carriod  ilio  American  .standard  in 
triumph  to  the  Mississippi.  Tiio  invadinjjr  forces  sent  from  Canada 
against  St.  [iOuis,  sliriink  from  conflict  wi)Ii  tiio  American  General,  dis- 
persed and  made  llieir  way  b;ick  as  lliey  could,  to  Ciinada. 

In  1780  on  llic  mountains,  that  separate  iNorlh  Carolina  from  Tennes- 
see, was  fought  llio  gallant  halllo  of  King's  Mountain,  in  which  the 
backwoods  men  of  Kentucky  and  Tcmicssco  had  so  glorious  a  share. 
Few  actions  on  record  have  hern  more  lierccly  contested.  The  British 
repeatedly  charged  the  mountaineers  with  fixed  bayonets.  Ferguson, 
the  British  commander,  was  slain.  The  enemy  left  one  hundred  and  fifty 
on  the  field;  six  hundred  and  ten  were  made  prisoners,  and  fifteen  hun- 
dred stand  of  arms  were  taken.  Only  four  hundred  and  forty  of  the  foe 
escaped.  Colonels  McDowell,  Camhell,  Shelby,  Sevier,  in  a  word,  every 
goldier  and  ofTicer  gained  in  that  battle  imperishable  honor.  No  victory 
could  have  had  a  more  auspicious  influence  upon  the  incipient  settlements 
in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  The  peace  of  1788  left  the  country  on 
tlie  Ohio  and  Mississippi  free  from  all  other  conllicts,  but  tlic  unremitting 
hostility  of  the  savages. 

Relieved  from  one  form  of  apprehension,  the  western  settlers  soon 
met  another.  The  right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  the  great  wes- 
tern canal  of  export  and  import,  was  refused  to  the  Americans  by  the 
Spanish  authorities  of  Louisiana.  This  became  a  fruitful  source  of 
dispute  and  re-crimination.  The  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see, jealous  of  their  rights,  and  not  satisfied  with  the  ellbrts  of  Congress 
to  procure  them  redress,  seemed  strongly  disposed  to  take  justice  into 
their  own  hands.  There  appears  to  have  been  no  less  than  five  distinct 
parties  among  them  at  this  time. 

The  first  advocated  an  independent  government  in  the  west,  and  a 
commercial  treaty  with  Spain.  The  second  proposed  to  annex  Kentucky 
to  Louisiana.  This  party  was  fostered  by  Spanish  intrigue  and  gold. 
The  third  proposed  to  make  war  with  Spain,  and  seize  Louisiana.  A 
fourth  party  sustained  the  American  confederation,  and  proposed  to 
extort  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  by  the  menace  of  an  invasion 
of  Louisiana.  The  fifth  wished  Louisiana  to  return  under  French  sway, 
and  that  Kentucky  should  make  part  of  it. 

The  fires  of  discord  between  these  parties  were  fanned  by  the  English, 
Spanish  and  French,  according  to  their  respective  views.  But  a  new 
element  of  political  influence  was  beginning  to  be  felt.  It  was  the  course, 
alike  wise,  firm  and  conciliating,  of  the  federal  government,  which  shortly 
merged  all  these  interests  in  the  overwhelming  preponderance  of  genuine 


«<* 


«t'-'^' 


..l!^^'^  .A 


A 

^ 


■tiK,' 


^^  .4 


t'lVIL   lirSTOUV. 


171 


American  loy.ilfy.  Tlio  Spniiisli  froaty  of  17!)5  wns  llio  result,  which, 
after  a  scries  of  nllnrrulioiis  iiml  diHicuIties  by  tlic  SpaiiiMh  coinmissioncr, 
went  into  quiet  eU'ect  in  171W. 

The  western  Indians  had  /,'enerally  taken  part  with  Great  Britain  in 
the  war  of  tiio  revoUition.  Alarmed  at  the  flood  of  iininij.miti()n,  which 
poured  into  the  western  country  on  the  return  of  peace,  they  still  kept 
up  the  war  on  their  own  account.  The  southern  Indians,  under 
McGillivsay,  were  quieted  hy  a  treaty;  hut  tho  northern  Indians 
stubbornly  resisted  all  cflbrts  at  pacification.  General  Ilarniar  was  sent 
against  them  with  a  considerable  force.  Some  hard  lighting  with  doubt- 
ful success  succeeded. 

Next  year  General  St.  Clair  was  sent  ngninst  them,  with  a  still  larger 
force.  Tho  Indians  attacked  him,  November  1702,  not  far  from  tho 
Miami  villages.  A  severe  and  fatal  battle  for  tho  Americans  ensued. 
They  were  completely  routed,  and  more  than  six  hundred  men,  including 
thirty  eight  oftlcers  slain.  The  wounded,  many  of  whom  died,  exceeded 
two  hundred  and  sixty.  It  was  the  severest  disaster,  which  had  befallen 
the  American  arms  in  the  west.  It  gave  new  extent  and  energy  to  the 
scalping  knife.  In  tho  investigation  of  this  bloody  aft'air,  which  took 
place  before  Congress,  it  was  proved,  that  between  1783  and  1790,  fifteen 
hundred  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  had  been  massacred,  or  made  prisoners 
by  the  Indians ;  and  an  equal  number  on  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Virginia,  and  that  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons  had  been  killed, 
or  made  prisoners,  a  number  of  whom  had  been  burned  at  the  stake, 
during  thirty  days,  in  which  the  Indians  were  proposing  to  make  a  treaty. 

This  disaster  and  these  representations  eflectually  aroused  the  people. 
General  Wayne  was  sent  against  the  Indians.  His  collected  force  ex- 
ceeded three  thousand  men.  lie  attacked  the  combined  Indians,  and 
gained  a  memorable  and  complete  victory.  The  fugitives  took  shelter 
under  the  guns  of  a  British  fort.  General  Wayne  justly  treated  thu 
commander  of  the  fort,  and  the  traders  sheltered  in  it,  who  had  obviously 
supplied  the  Indians  with  arms,  provisions  and  amunition,  with  very  little 
ceremony,  burning  their  stores  and  their  corn,  and  driving  them  to  the 
security  of  the  range  of  their  own  guns.  In  August  1702,  a  general 
treaty  witli  the  Indians  was  concluded,  and  tiic  desolating  horrors  of  Indian 
warfare  were  brought  to  an  end. 

This  peace,  so  auspicious  to  the  progress  of  the  West,  was  soon 
followed  by  internal  dissentions.  The  first  extention  of  the  federal  sway 
was  regarded  with  suspicion  in  various  parts  of  the  union.  Congress 
had  passed  a  law  imposing  duties  on  spirits  distilled  in  the  United  States. 

This  law  was  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  people  of  west  Pennsylvania. 
A  decided  and  systematic  opposition  to  government  was  organized. 


'■f."* 


m 


■/  1  '\i  1 


Iff 


./"- 

!,-?',• 


^< 


n,i 


MISHIhtHll'IM    >AM.i:V. 


.i 


Civil  procotwfiH  iiiHiiiulid  undrr  lli:it  ^^'ovcriinitjiit  wrrc  icsiKttxI.  The 
mursliul  ut  Piltslnir^'li  imd  (itinriil  NcvilN',  in  whose;  hoiisu  ho  look 
shelter,  wcro  Koi/od,  and  olhcrwiHo  Irc.ilcd  with  violtucc,  to  omcuikj  which, 
they  made  their  rctroat  down  the  Ohio. 

The  govcrnmont  conduclcd  wiui  <k'lih(M:Uo  finnmtfs.  After  all  clTortM 
at  conciliation  Imd  hecn  cxiiiuistcd,  a  .stron<»  Ibrco  was  sent  over  the* 
mountains)  commanded  hy  tho  (iovcrnorH  of  Virginiii,  rt'im.-<)lv;iiiii  and 
New  Jersey.  The  unaiiiinify  of  tho  n;iiion,  and  tho  /^rcaineHH  of  the 
force  prevented  tho  cllusion  of  blood.  Tlio  insiuffcntrt  stilmiiltcd  with- 
out resistance.  A  few  were  airoslcd,  and  one  person,  who  had  rendered 
himself  jwculiarly  ohnoxioun  hy  hin  violcnco,  esc.ipod. 

Tho  western  country  meanwhile  continiUHl  to  till  with  iinini-i rants  wilh 
a  rapidity  unparalleled  in  the  aimals  of  any  otiier  country.  The  wood- 
man's axe  was  heard  in  innumerahle  places  in  the  forest.  Coniinencin^ 
towns  and  villages  sprung  up  among  the  deadened  trees  on  every  Hide. 
The  surplus  produce  of  the  west  h(!,fan  to  descend  ihc  Ohio  and  3Iissis- 
sippi,  in  all  the  whimsical  varieties  of  boats,  tliat  float  on  those  streams. 
At  frequent  intervals  occasional  murders  of  the  people  on  tho  frontiers 
continued  to  occur,  and  keep  alive  the  smothered  ft^elings  of  hatred  nnti 
revenge,  which  existed  between  the  two  races.  But  the  flood  of  immi- 
gration still  continued  to  flow  on,  unchecked  by  these  local  causes  of 
alarm. 

War  raged  again  in  Europe.  France,  Spain  and  England  preyed 
upon  our  commerce.  Spain,  beside  joining  in  the  general  plinider,  shut 
the  port  of  New  Orleans  against  us.  Twelve  regiments  were  added  to 
our  army.  Three  of  the  old  regiments  were  ordered  to  a  point  near  the 
mouth  of  tho  Ohio,  and  other  demonstrations  of  a  purpose  to  redress  our 
wrongs  by  force  were  made. 

Early  in  the  administration  of  Jefferson,  Spain  restored  us  the  right  of 
deposit  at  New  Orleans,  and  informed  ua  at  the  same  time,  that  she  had, 
by  a  treaty  of  1801,  ceded  Louisiana  to  tlie  government  of  France, 
which  had  become  a  republic.  A  French  army  wliich  had  been  appointed 
avowedly  for  tho  purpose  of  occupying  Louisiana,  was  blockaded  in  a 
Dutch  port  by  a  British  squadron.  France  wanted  money,  more  than 
colonies,  which  she  had  no  navy  to  occupy  or  defend ;  and  by  the  treaty 
of  April  1803,  in  consideration  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars,  she  ceded 
Louisiana  to  the  United  States.  The  immense  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
in  its  whole  extent,  became  ours,  opening  a  new  era  to  the  West,  which 
we  trust  will  be  dear  to  freedom  as  long  as  tho  Mississippi  shall  roll 
to  the  sea. 

The  famous  expedition  of  Burr  occurred  in  1806-7.  He  descended 
the  Mississippi  early  in  Januaiy  of  the  latter  year  with  fourteen  boats. 


'"'*: 


■%' 


■■fl 


CIVIL   IKSTORV. 


ITS 


i  J  .1 


and  iVom  ci^'lily  to  onn  liurHlrcd  iiicn.  MciiiL'  iipprisLMl,  ih:il  liis  move- 
niciils  were  viewed  with  suspit'ion,  he  ^;i\«;  lioiids  (o  llie  uulliorities  of 
llic  Mississippi  Icrrifoiy,  wliicli,  liowcvjr,  lio  noon  let^,  and  a  reward  of 
Iwo  lliousand  dollars  was  (iU'eretl  lor  liis  ii]>pi(li(  iisioii  The  pndessed 
nbjcct  of  thin  mad  expedition  waa  to()ccii|)y  and  t^ettli;  a  laiye  purehaso 
of  lands  on  tlio  Washita. 

His  real  purpose,  founded  on  erroneous  views  of  the  disloyally  of  (ho 
West,  was  juoliably,  to  detach  it  from  tlio  confederacy,  and  estahlish  aii 
empire  for  Ijimscif  Somc!  persons  were  arrested,  as  accomplices  with 
Burr,  nmon<jf  whom  were  Bullmau  and  ();;(lcn.  IJurr  iiimself  was  ufter- 
wnnis  tried,  and  acjpiitted. 

The  year  INI'J  was  memorahle,  as  the  era  of  tlu;  lirst  .succ«!ssfid  uso  of 
steam  boats  on  the  western  waters.  At  the  eonnnencfMnent  of  the  winter 
the  steam  boat  New  Orleans,  carryinn;  between  thr^e  and  four  hundred 
tons,  descended  from  Pittsbur^rh  to  New  Orleans  in  two  hiuidred  and 
fifty-nino  hours.  The  first  experiment  was  extremely  fortunate,  ami, 
comparing  this  passa{,'e  with  that  of  seventy-five  days  for  the  descent  of 
a  llatboat  from  Iho  same  place,  presented  the  advantages  of  steam  navi- 
gation in  strong  contrast.  Every  re(leetiii<j  i)erson  could  easily  divine, 
what  an  immense  bearing  this  wonderful  invention  of  steam  boats  would 
have  upon  the  future  growtli  and  prosperity  of  the  West.  The  census  of 
1810  gave  tho  West  nearly  a  million  of  inhabitants,  about  eight  times 
the  number  of  1799. 

It  has  been  seen,  that  our  commerce  had  been  plundered  by  England, 
Franco  and  Spain.  Our  political  relations  with  the  two  former  powers 
had  been  for  some  time  on  a  precarious  footing.  It  was  a  question  dis- 
cussed in  Congress  with  no  little  asperity,  on  which  of  these  powers  wo 
should  make  war,  to  redress  our  wrongs.  It  was  ultimately  determined 
to  select  England,  as  having  indicted  the  most  palpable  injuries,  and  as 
being  most  accessible  in  her  colonial  possessions.  For  some  tiinc  her 
ancient  influence  with  the  Indians  on  our  northern  and  western  frontiers 
had  been  gathering  strength  against  us.  The  long  suppressed  llame  burst 
forth  at  length  in  the  battle  of  Tippicanoe.  At  the  close  of  1811  tho 
forracrscencsof  savage  assault  and  murder  along  the  frontier  settlements 
were  renewed  with  incessant  incursions  and  the  murder  of  whole  fami- 
lies. Beside  the  usual  instigation  and  influence  of  British  traders  the 
famous  Shawnese  prophet  appealed  to  their  bloody  superstitions  to  incite 
them  to  general  league  against  us.  Generals  Harrison  and  Boyd  marched 
against  them  with  some  militia  and  a  regiment  of  regular  troops.  In  thirty 
days  they  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  the  prophet's  town.  Soon  afterwards, 
they  weie  attacked  in  the  night  by  tJie  Indians.  It  was  a  scene  of  confusion 
and  blood.     But  the  prompt  and  judicious  u\ovements  of  general  Ilarri- 


m.^ 


^^(^ 


■W-J! 


:^,. 


«s- 


174 


MISSISSIPPI   VALLEY. 


son  and  the  gallant  charge  of  tlic  regular  troops,  soon  cloafed  the  camp  of 
the  assailants.  In  this  hurried  and  bloody  alliiir  the  Americans  lost  188 
men  killed  and  wounded.  Among  the  slain  were  some  officers  of  great 
bravery  and  merit.     The  Indian  loss  was  supposed  have  been  equal. 

In  June  1812,  war  was  declared  by  the  United  States  against  Great 
Britain.  An  army  of  2500  men,  consisting  of  regulars  and  Ohio  volun- 
teers collected  at  Detroit  under  the  command  of  General  Hull.  After  a 
series  rf  skirmishes  honorable  to  Colonels  Cass  and  Miller,  General  Hull 
surrf;ndered  his  whole  force,  Detroit  and  the  territory  of  Michigan  to  the 
Brit.sh  General  Brock.  Never  was  event  more  prolific  of  shame,  dis- 
grac  e  and  disaster. 

The  Indians  wore  at  once  on  the  alert  in  hostility  to  our  country  from 
the  lakes  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico.   Colonel  Newuiaii  of  the  Georgia  volun 
leers  distinguished  himself  in  a  desperate  and  gallant  struggle  with  the 
Seminole  Indians  on  the  Georgia  frontier. 

About  this  time  the  Creeks  and  Seminoles  assaulted  and  took  Fort 
Mimms  on  the  Tensa  in  Mississippi.  It  was  commanded  by  Major 
Beasly  with  150  men.  Three  hundred  persons,  more  than  half  women 
and  children  were  massacred.  Never  was  savage  cruelty  more  atrocious 
and  unsparing.  But  seventeen  persons  escaped.  General  Jackson, 
nobly  sustained  by  Generals  Coffee  and  Carroll,  was  ordered  into  tlio 
Creek  country.  Encountering  disaffection,  desertion,  want  of  provisions, 
and  innuinerable  difficulties  of  every  sort,  he  succeeded  in  defeating  and 
humbling  them  to  the  sure  submission  of  fear  and  inability  of  further  an- 
noyance. The  victories  over  the  Creeks  were  named  from  the  places, 
where  the  battles  were  fought,  Tallushatchee,  Talladega,  Emuckfaw,  and 
Tahopeka.  The  last  victory  was  most  terribly  decisive.  The  Indianj 
left  557  dead;  and  only  four  men,  along  with  300  women  and  children 
wCiG  taken  prisoners.  Humanity  recoils  from  the  contemplation  of  tlic 
misery  and  ruin  inflicted  upon  this  fierce  and  deluded  people.  But  it 
must  be  remembered,  that  they  had  been  incurring  this  severe  reckomii",' 
by  cruelties  and  murders  for  twenty  years,  crowned  with  the  horrors  oi' 
Fort  Mimms.  The  meed  of  unslirinkiiig  pcMscverance,  the  most  cool  and 
determined  bravery,  unflinching  patriotism,  and  able  management  in  tliu 
prosecution  of  this  war  must  be  awarded  to  General  Jackson. 

Meanwhile,  after  the  fall  of  Dutruit,  savage  vengeance  raged  witli  un- 
relenting fury  along  the  whole  lake  frontier.  Various  successful  incur- 
sions were  made  in  retaliation,  in  whicli  the  Indians  in  their  turn 
experienced  deserved  chastisement.  But  tlic  united  forces  of  the  Brit- 
ish and  Indians,  were  successlul  in  defeating  general  Winchester,  wlio 
was  captured  with  some  of  his  ofiiceis  in  the  early  part  of  the  action. 
After  a  severe  engagement,    the  remainder  of  the  American  troojiy, 


between 
terms  of 
perpetual 
this  occa 
themselv 
'  massacr 
Durinf 
llie  besie^ 
a  brigade 
brave  mei 
cade,  an< 
diversion, 
number; 
Gvvynne, 
mcnt.    T 
thirteen  d; 
At  tliis 
defence  oi 
600  regulo 
After  an  n 
having  losi 
TJie  bril 
ish  fleet  on 
hie  advant 
of  a  Britis 
ing  to  the 
Canadian 
one  thousa 
incident  et 
burg  were 
their  dens, 
had  return 
Scarcely  a 
person,  pn 
instigated, 
tlie  enemy 
not  except 
An  enga 
General  H 
and  Tecun 
my's  centri 
officers. 


mmmmm^^ 


mimigmmmm^mMU9imiwmimMmi*m 


CIVIL  nisTonv. 


175 


■** 


between  five  and  six  hundred,  surrendered.  The  Indians  violated  the 
terms  of  the  surrender,  and  a  general  and  horrible  massacre  ensued,  to  tlio 
perpetual  inftiiny  of  General  Proctor,  and  his  forces,  who  conducted  on 
tliis  occasion,  willi  little  morehumanily  and  fjnod  faith,  than  the  savagea 
themselves.  This  bloody  affair  is  known  in  the  west  by  the  name  of  the 
'  massacre  of  the  Raisin.'' 

During  the  memorable  siege  of  Fort  Meigs  by  the  British  and  Indians, 
tlic  besiegers  were  assailed  by  Colonel  Dudley  who  arrived,  commanding 
a  brigade  of  Kentucky  recruits.  Tiio  enemy  fled,  and  the  ardor  of  these 
brave  men  carried  them  too  far  in  the  pursuit.  They  fell  into  an  ambus- 
cade, and  sutTered  severely.  A  sortie  from  the  Fort,  intended  as  a 
diversion,  in  favor  of  the  Kentucky  force,  was  assailed  by  four  times  its 
number;  and  would  have  been  cut  oil",  but  for  the  gallantry  of  lieutenant 
Gvvynne,  who  opportunely  charged  the  Indians,  and  saved  the  detach- 
ment. The  siege  was  soon  after  raised.  The  American  loss,  during  the 
thirteen  days,  which  it  lasted,  was  270  killed  and  wounded. 

At  this  time  Major  Croghan  gained  imperishable  honor  by  his  intrepid 
defence  of  Fort  Stephenson.  With  only  100  men  he  was  besieged  by 
500  regulars  and  700  Indians  under  the  command  of  general  Pi  tor. 
After  an  unavailing  attempt  to  storm  the  Fort,  the  besiegers  decamped, 
having  lost  150  men  in  the  attempt. 

The  brilliant  and  complete  victory  of  the  gallant  Perry  over  the  Brit- 
ish fleet  on  lake  Erie  ensued,  and  gave  the  American  cause  the  inestima- 
ble advantage  of  the  complete  connnand  of  the  lake.  The  striking  array 
of  a  British  and  American  fleet  was  seen  from  the  shores  of  Ohio,  round- 
ing to  the  shore  to  transport  the  American  troops  to  the  invasion  of  the 
Canadian  shore.  These  troops  were  landed  from  sixteen  vessels  and 
one  thousand  boats  in  perfect  order  a  league  below  Maiden.  It  was  an 
incident  equally  novel,  cheering  and  impressive.  Maiden  and  Amherts- 
burg  were  successively  occupied.  The  savages  were  unkennelled  from 
their  dens,  where  they  had  been  retained,  and  unleaphed ;  and  where  they 
had  returned,  and  treasure-!  their  horrid  trophies  of  human  scalps. 
Scarcely  a  volunteer  cntced  these  odious  places,  but  had  suffered  in  his 
person,  property,  relations  or  friends  by  the  assaults  and  massacres  here 
instigated.  To  show  the  strongest  possible  contrast  to  the  deportment  of 
the  enemy  at  the  Raisin,  private  property,  houses  and  persons  were  spared, 
not  excepting  the  house  of  tlio  renegado.  Colonel  Elliot. 

An  engagement  followed  between  the  Ameiican  army  commanded  by 
General  Harrison,  and  the  British  and  Indians  under  General  Proctor 
and  Tecumseh.  The  American  mounted  troops  dashed  through  the  ene- 
my's centre,  producing  the  immediate  surrender  of  472  men  and  their 
officers.    General  Proctor  osaiped  by  the  sixsed  of  his  horse.  ^_ 


j^- 


170 


MISSISSn'PI   VALLEY. 


Tlie  Indians  contested  the  battle  with  much  more  pertinacity,  than 
their  Brilisli  allies.  Tlie  renowned  Tocumsel'  put  fortli  all  his  powers; 
but  after  a  fierce  contest,  tlic  savafrcs  were  defeated;  and  Tecumsch 
was  slain,  it  is  conmionly  reported  by  Colonel  Julinson,  in  personal 
contest. 

Among  the  singular  tropliics  of  this  victory  were  "evcral  pieces  of  brass 
cannon,  which  had  been  taken  from  IJurnoyne  at  Saratoga,  surrendered 
by  General  Hull  with  Detroit,  and  now  returned  to  the  Americans  again. 
No  event  in  tliis  war  had  been  so  directly  auspicious  to  the  western 
country,  as  this  victory.  IMicliigan  was  recovered;  and  the  British  force 
in  upper  Canada  broken  down.  The  Fpirit  and  confidence  of  the  north- 
em  savages  were  quelled;  and  the  people  along  the  wide  western  frontier 
were  relieved  from  their  ajiprehensions,  and  returned  in  security  and 
peace  to  their  accustomed  habitations. 

Scarcely  had  the  Creeks  been  brought  to  terms  in  tlie  south,  before 
tlie  southern  people  were  alarmed  with  the  more  formidable  apprehensions 
of  British  invasion.  General  Jackson  marclicd  with  his  forces  to  Pensa- 
cola, which  was  already  in  the  occupation  of  the  British.  The  British 
failed  in  an  obstinate  naval  attack  upon  Fort  Bowyer  in  Mobile  bay;  and 
were  defeated  with  the  loss  of  2JJ0  men  killed  and  wounded. 

The  British  forces  then  retired  to  Pensacola.  That  town  and  Barran- 
cas were  assaulted,  and  taken,  and  the  British  completely  dislodged  from 
all  the  posts  upon  that  shore.  From  those  acliievemcnts  Ger.eralJackson 
marched  to  New  Orleans,  and  put  fo:<h  all  his  energy  and  decision  in 
collecting  forces,  and  placing  Louisiana  in  the  best  possible  state  of 
defence. 

A  well  contested  engagement  took  place  between  an  attack  of  British 
targes,  and  the  small  American  naval  force,  of  gun  boats  near  the  Iligo- 
let  or  pass  from  lake  Borgne  into  lake  Ponchartraiu.  The  bravery  of 
the  Americans  was  never  more  honorably  conspicuous;  though  the 
American  gun  boats  were  captured  by  an  overwhelming  force.  The 
British  loss  in  the  action  far  exceeded  ours. 

The  British  army,  wliich  had  been  hovering  on  the  gulf  shore, 'debark- 
ed safely  at  Bayou  Bienvenu,  fifteen  miles  souihcast  of  New  Orleans. 
General  Jackson  resolved  to  give  them  battle.  His  recent  recruits  from 
the  upper  country  wore  pr  >mjttly  on  the  field  of  battle.  Commodore 
Patterson  in  thi  schooner  (  u'oline  opened  a  destructive  fire  upon  thcni. 
After  a  warm  action,  necessarily  involved  in  much  confusion  from  the 
late  hour,  in  which  it  was  connuenced,  and  from  the  ignorance  of  boili 
forces  of  the  ground,  and  of  e:u'!i  others  positions,  the  British  tliri«e 
assailed,  and  beaten,  retired  a  mile.  Ha!isfied  with  th'^  .;men,  and  this 
first  result  of  what  the  British  li.id  to  exiKct  from  us,  and  aware  that  the 


proclaim 
removinj 
the  lasti 
an  invest 
creased 
At  th 
characte 
bravery 
can  fai 
general 


.  t 


CIVIL   HISTORY. 


177 


British  were  double  our  numbers,  General  Jackson  recalled  his  troops  to 
their  position.     Our  loss  was   139  killed  and  wounded,  and  74  pris 
oners.     Tiie  killed,  wounded  and  prisoners  of  the  enemy  amounted  to 
400.     Soon  after,  we  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  the  schooner  which 
had  so  severely  annoyed  the  British. 

Fortunately  before  Ihc  great  battle  of  the  eighth  of  January,  the  long 
expected  reinforcement  Irom  Kentucky,  am junting  to  2250  men,  arrived 
at  our  camp.  Tlic  eigiith  of  January  dawned,  and  the  British  commenced 
upon  our  line  oneof  the  most  obstinate  attacks  on  militnvy  record.  They 
were  defeated  with  prodigious  slaughter.  T]ieir  killed,  wounded  and 
prisoners  exceeded  2000  men.  Ahiiough  ll:c  British  had  been  success- 
ful in  an  attack  upon  the  American  troops  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river,  compelling  the  American  force  under  General  Morgan  to  retreat, 
liaving  lost  tlieir  Generals  Packingham,  Gibbs  and  Keane,  tliey  felt  no 
disposition  longer  to  contest  the  possession  of  a  soil,  that  had  been  so  fatal 
to  them,  and  soon  after  embarked  in  their  fleet.  t 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  a  scene  of  exultation,  past  the  power  of 
words  to  describe,  ensued  in  tlie  camp,  and  in  New  Orleans.  The  brave 
troops  of  the  west  returned  to  tlicir  homes  covered  with  imperishable 
honors,  to  hand  down  the  story  of  tlicir  achievements  to  their  children. 

In  making  this  glorious  defence  of  the  shores  of  the  gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  in  gaining  these  victories,  General  Jackson  was  obliged  to  resort  to 
the  strong  measures  of  military  decision  and  promptness.  We  have  not 
space,  in  which  to  array  the  innumerable  difficulties,  he  had  to  encoun- 
ter from  a  country,  but  recently  accustomed  to  American  rule,  peopled 
to  a  considerable  degree  with  inliabitants  of  another  language  and  na- 
tion, the  want  of  arms,  the  numercial  weakness  of  his  force,  and  his 
great  distance  from  ade(iuate  reinforcements  and  supplies.  The  brevity 
of  our  sketch  accords  with  our  inclination  in  excluding  us  from  any  dis- 
cussion of  the  necessity  of  many  of  the  measures,  to  which  he  had 
resorted;  and  from  questioning  the  grounds  of  a  reaction  of  public  feel- 
ing, which  occurred  on  the  return  of  tranquillity.  His  conduct  in 
proclaiming  martial  law,  and  suspending  the  privilege  of  habeas  corpus, 
removing  some  suspected  citizens,  and  punishing  some  deserters  with 
the  last  rigor  of  martial  law,  underwent  a  severe  investigation,  at  the  time, 
an  investigation  which  subsequent  circumstances  have  renewed  with  in- 
creased asperity.  P 

At  this  day,  however  different  may  be  the  estimate  of  the  political 
character  of  general  Jackson,  no  one  can  fail  to  do  justice  to  his  wisdom, 
bravery  and  good  conduct  in  the  prosecution  of  this  campaign.  No  one 
can  fail  to  admit,  that  the  emergencies  of  the  case  called  for  such  a 
general,  and  that  weak  and  vacillating  meafures  could  scarcely  have  failed 

23 


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i 


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ir 

.  .'I'l 


178 


:mis.sissippi  v\i,i,ev. 


to  have  lost  the  country.  On  the  IJith  of  the  month,  peace  was  officially 
announced  in  the  camp.  On  llio  2 1th,  (Jeiieral  Jackson  was  prosecuted 
for  contempt  of  court  at  the  suitof  Judfrc  1  Tall,  and  was  cast  in  a  fine  of  a 
thousand  dollars.  General  fooling  in  view  of  the  sentence  was  mani- 
fested hy  the  citizens.  Il  was  proposed  to  give  puhlicity  to  that  feeling 
by  paying  the  fine  by  volunlnry  contribution.  Jt  was  no  sooner  meditated 
than  done.  So  numerous  were  the  citizens,  wlio  desired  to  contribute, 
tliat  the  entire  sum  was  raised  in.  a  few  minutes.  The  general,  under- 
standing what  was  agitated,  sought  the  marshal,  paid  the  fine,  and 
avoided  an  obligation,  which  his  feelings  would  not  allow  him  to  incur. 
Previous  to  breaking  up  his  cainp,  he  issued  an  imjjrcssive  and  affec- 
tionate address  to  his  brave  companions  in  arms,  and  w-as  soon  on  his 
way  to  his  home.  Grateful  and  affectionate  honors  awaited  him  every 
where,  and  most  of  all  at  home,  where  he  was  welcomed  by  a  reception 
from  his  fellow  citizens,  that  must  have  been  more  ^tlightful,  than  all  hi? 
previous  triumphs. 

The  close  of  the  war,  as  might  be  expected  produced  a  general  pacifi- 
cation of  the  savages  on  our  whole  frontier.  It  was  obvious  to  intellects 
less  vigorous  than  theirs,  that  if  they  had  the  worst  of  liie  contest,  when 
aided  by  all  the  power  of  Britain  and  the  coun^'^nance  of  the  Spanish, 
they  could  have  little  hope,  of  continuing  the  contest  with  us  single 
handed.  Profound  peace  was  soon  restored  to  all  our  borders,  from  the 
northeast  to  the  southwest  frontier.  The  tide  of  immigration  which  had 
been  arrested  during  the  war,  set  more  strongly  towards  the  western 
country  for  having  been  so  long  kept  back.  Shoals  of  mimigrants  were 
seen  on  all  the  great  roads  leading  in  that  direction.  Oleanne,  Pittsbrrgh, 
Brownsville,  Wheeling,  Nashville,  Cincinnati,  and  St.  Louis  overflowed 
with  Ihcm.  Ohio  and  Indiana  beheld  thousands  of  new  cabins  spring  up 
in  their  forests.  On  the  borders  of  the  solitary  prairies  of  Illinois  and 
Missouri,  smokes  were  seen  streaming  aloft  from  the  dwellings  of  recent 
settlers.  The  settlements  whicl)  had  been  broken  up  during  the  war, 
were  re-peopled,  and  many  immigrants  returned  again  to  the  very  cabins, 
which  they  had  occupied  before  the  war.  Boon's-Iick  and  Salt  river,  in 
Missouri,  were  the  grand  points  of  immigration,  as  were  tlie  Sangama 
and  the  upper  courses  of  the  Kaskaskias,  in  Illinois.  In  the  south,  Ala- 
bama filled  with  new  habitations,  and  flie  current,  not  arrested  by  the 
Mississippi,  set  over  its  banks,  to  Wiiite  river,  Arkansas,  and  Louisiana, 
west  of  that  river.  The  wandering  jiropcnsity  of  the  American  people 
carried  hundreds  even  beyond  our  territorial  limits  into  the  Spanisii 
country. — Wagons,  servants,  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  horses,  and  dogs,  wore 
seen  passing  with  the  settlers,  bound  to  innnense  distances  up  the  long 
rivers.  To  fix  an  Imndrcd  miles  from  another  settler  was  deemed  no  in- 
couveniencg. 


the  ICf. 
The  t 
these 
legislc 
learn ; 
two  or 
track 

Mes 
tide  b( 
indica 
curren 
that  tl 
few  o 
Welu 
count 
tempi 
ceival 


CIVir.    HISTORY. 


179 


Tliis  flood  ofimmigranls  of  course  increased  tlio  amount  of  transport, 
and  gave  now  impulse  lo  c'lterpriseofcvevy  sort.  Lands  rose  al)ovc  Iheir 
value,  and  spoculatitm  in  tlicin  becam-;  a  raging  epidemic.  Money,  put 
in  circulation  by  tlie  sale  of  lands,  Jibounded  in  the  country.  To\vn 
making,  steam  boat  building, — in  short,  every  species  of  speculation  was 
carried  to  a  ruinous  excess.  JMercniitile  importations  filled  the  country 
with  foreign  goods.  There  were  no  reasonable  foundations  to  the  schemes 
and  no  limits  to  tlie  extravagance  of  the  [)coiile.  To  give  a  more  fatal 
extension  and  efficacy  to  tlie  mania  of  speculation,  banks  were  multiplied 
in  all  the  little  towns  and  villages  of  tJje  West,  whose  spurious  paper,  not 
predicated  on  banking  principles,  nor  based  u])on  capital,  answered  tlie 
turn  of  speculation,  as  long  as  the  excitement  of  confidence  lasted.  The 
consequence  of  all  this  was,  that  huids  rose  to  double  and  triple  their 
natural  value,  and  were  bo'.iglit  up  by  speculators.  One  good  effect  re- 
sulted from  the  general  mischief.  Jmjjrovcments,  which  would  never 
have  been  contemplated,  in  anotlicv  state  of  things,  multiplied.  Towns 
were  built  up  with  good  and  pcrnnncnt  houses.  In  three  years  from  the 
close  of  the  war,  things  had  received  a  new  face  along  the  great  water 
courses,  and  in  all  the  favorable  points  of  the  interior. 

New  states  and  territories  grew  out  of  this  order  of  things,  like  the 
prophet's  gourd.  In  building  up  legislation  and  municipal  order,  the 
scramble  of  strangers  recently  brought  in  contiguity,  for  the  new  offices, 
introduced  much  bustle  -md  (juarrelling.  All  the  legislators  were  not 
Solons.  A  great  many  'forward  and  plunging  young  men,  whose  only 
qualifications  for  their  grc^t  work,  were  vanity  and  confidence,  composed 
the  legislatures.  Of  course  a  thousand  monstrous  projects  were  hatched. 
The  teaching  of  the  past  history  and  experience,  were  not  the  guides  of 
these  coniident  legislate  s  The  evils,  that  soon  resulted  from  such 
legislation,  gradually  worked  their  own  cure.  The  people  were  slow  to 
learn;  but  in  most  of  the  states  and  territories,  after  taking  lessons  for 
two  or  three  years,  they  did  learn;  and  returned  to  the  safeand  ancient 
track  of  history,  example  and  experience. 

Meanwhile,  this  unnatural  state  of  things  could  not  last  long.  The 
tide  began  to  ebb,  and  things  to  settle  to  their  natural  level.  The  first 
indication  of  thi'5  change  was,  the  failure  of  the  banks,  at  first  as  rare  oc- 
currences; but  these  failures  soon  become  so  numerous  and  common, 
that  the  paper,  except  of  the  banks  of  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  a  very 
few  of  the  interior  banks,  became  as  useless  as  any  other  wrapping  paper. 
We  have  not  the  data  for  calculating  the  amount  of  loss  in  the  western 
country;  und  patience  a.id  moderation  of  feeling  would  fail  us,  in  con- 
templating the  enormous  mischiefs  of  legislative  swindling.  An  incon- 
ceivable fjuantjty  of  paper  pcrislied,  not  in  the  hands  of  the  speculators, 


T^     '  '^i'^-'  ■''  'i  's 


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1     ■ 

f            V 

■*  ^.W: 

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i     \\T    sJyJ' 

,    '^vm 

'm 

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1 

Ul        1  tilfl 

-fir 


■'WW-."Pfill»i.  '^1  ^w- 


*Twr  i^*»ii '  ^Tr^<yff- 


180 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY. 


!»r  ■ 


and  those,  wlioliad  been  cfliciont  in  gcnorating  if;  lor  they  foresaw  tho 
approaching  ruin,  and  passed  the  spurious  pnper  away,  before  the  bubble 
of  confidence,  on  which  it  was  predicated,  burst.  It  finally  rested,  and 
perished  in  the  hands  of  farmers  nnd  incchanics, — the  honest  and  the 
useful  members  of  thecomniunily,  wlio  h;ul  fairly  earned  the  value  of  the 
money.  May  it  be  a  perpetual  warning  to  llie  legislatures  of  the  West, 
not  to  allow  demagogues  to  trillc  with  llicir  interests,  in  the  introduction 
of  banking  schemes  based  upon  any  other  foundation,  than  solid  capital. 
A  more  enormous  engine  of  mishief  and  dishonesty  never  was  introduced 
into  a  community. 

Lands  experienced   almost   a  perpendicular  fall.     Immigration  was 
suspended.     Money   ceased  to  flow  into  the  country  from  that  source. 
The  depreciated  money  of  the  country  banks  was  no  longer  receive«J  in 
payment.     The  merchants  had  sold  out  on  credit  the  immense  amount  of 
goods,  which  they  had  brought  into  the  country,  and  the  debtors  had  no 
means  of  payment  left  to  enable  them  to  make  remittances.     All  tho 
specie  of  the  country  made  its  way  to  the  Atlantic  country,  to  pay  for  the 
goods,  imported  thence.  Credit  was  at  an  end,  and  universal  distress  pre- 
vailed.   In  some  of  the  states,  after  some  experiments  of  quackery,  the 
legislatures  began  to  consult  experience,  and  desisted  from  violent  polit- 
ical remedies,  which  in  the  end  are  sure  to  aggravate  the  disease.    In 
other  legislatures,  where  they  had  not  yet  learned,  that  bills  made  by  an 
engraver,  and  signed  by  a  president  and  cashier  of  a  bank  with  a  name, 
are  not  necessarily  money,  tliey  passed  laws,  whimsically  called  relief 
laws,  apparently  from  the  misery  and  confusion,  they  created.     And 
there  was  a  new  deluge  of  bank  paper  in  a  new  form  to  remedy  the  dis- 
tress, occasioned  by  the  failure  of  the  old.     In  Kentucky,  Illinois,  and 
Missouri,  the  legislatures  plunged  deepest  into  the  abyss  of  relief  laws. 
Loan  offices  emitted  money  on  the  faith  of  the  state,  pledged  for  its 
redemption.     It  was  soon  in  the  hands  of  speculators,  purchased  at  a 
fourth  of  its  nominal  value.   It  was  directly  ascertained,  tliat  the  remedy 
was  worse  than  the  disease.     This  evil  was  longest  persisted  in,  where  it 
would  have  been  supposed,  it  would  be  relinquished  first,  in  Kentucky  the 
common  mother  of  the  western  states,  opulent,  enlightened,  and  teeming 
with  men  of  education  and  intelligence.      So  it  will  ever  be,  when  the 
rash  and  presuming  legislate,  and  predicate  their  schemes  on  wild  theory, 
and  not  on  the  sure  teaching  of  age,  tried  wisdom,  experience,  and  the 
analogy  of  the  past. 

Were  wo  to  descend  to  the  details  of  state  events,  and  the  charac- 
ter of  state  legislation,  volumes  would  be  necessary.  Mercantile,  mine- 
ral, and  fur  associations  were  formed  and  pursued  with  spirit.  Different 
exploring  expeditions,  ordered  by  the  government,  added  to  the  general 


commerce. 


CIVIL   HISTORY. 


181 


and  topographical  knowledge  of  the  country.  An  hundred  now  towns 
have  grown  to  consequence,  mid  the  cuhilojruc  of  proper  names  has  been 
ransacked  to  find  names  for  thoni.  ytoain  boats  have  been  increased  to 
such  numbers,  that  there  arc  now  moro  than  two  Iiundred  on  our  waters. 
Our  militia  is  gradually  acquirini,'  ellicicncy  and  organization.  It  is, 
probably,  as  numerous,  in  proportion  to  our  population,  as  that  of  the 
Atlantic  states.  In  some  of  the  statc.<,  the  system  is  lax,  or  the  laws 
badly  enforced;  for  the  militia  is  neither  regularly  organized,  trained  or 
armed.  A  levy,  en  7nassc,  in  the  state  of  Ohio  would  probably  bring  to 
tlie  field  more  fighting  men,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  than  in  any 
other  of  the  United  States.  Owing  to  ifs  recent  settlement,  few  of  the 
inhabitants  are  past  the  age  for  bearing  arms.  Males  immigrate  in  greater 
numbers,  than  females;  and  from  these  circumstances,  there  is  a  large 
proportion  of  men  capable  of  bearing  arms. 

In  furnishing  a  remedy  for  the  incalculable  mischief  and  misery  occa.- 
sioned  by  universal  want  of  confidence  in  the  local  banks,  and  baidc 
paj)er,  the  only  currency  suited  to  the  wants  of  the  West,  no  influence 
was  felt  to  be  so  prompt  and  salutary,  as  the  establishment  of  branches 
of  the  bank  of  the  United  States  among  us.  It  would  be  easy  to  show, 
that  local  and  state  banks,  however  they  may  meet  tlie  necessities  of 
commerce,  when  established  in  large  commercial  towns,  with  extensive 
capital  always  promptly  convertible  into  specie,  and  however  they  may 
be  adequate  to  furnish  a  sound  currency  for  a  narrow  circle  in  their 
immediate  vicinity,  are  not  suited  to  the  position,  and  the  extensive, 
distant,  commercial  relations  of  the  West.  Although  this  country 
abundantly  possessed  that,  for  which  money  and  bank  paper  stand  as  the 
representative ?,  our  distance  from  the  emporiums  of  commerce  on  the 
sea  board,  and  thoir  dear  bought  experience  of  the  former  worthlessness 
of  our  banks  forbade  reasonable  expectation,  that  our  local  paper  could 
be  received,  as  a  sound  currency  beyond  the  immediate  vicinity  of  its 
issue.  In  this  establishment  was  provided  a  banking  system,  much  better 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  an  interior  country,  than  of  the  maritime  capi- 
tals, enabling  the  people  to  obtain  loans  commensurate  with  their  estab- 
lished credit,  and  to  find  in  the  post  office  the  medium  of  sure  and 
prompt  remittance  of  a  circulation  every  where  uniform,  and  enabling 
the  remotest  western  dealer  to  remit  to  the  most  distant  Atlantic  town, 
and  to  receive  remittances  at  his  writing  desk.  Western  travellers,  too, 
rapidly  increasing  in  numbers,  pas.-iiig  to  the  remotest  points,  were 
relieved  from  the  intolerable  annoyance  of  dealing  with  a  broker  at  the 
interval  of  every  hundred  miles,  and  continual  altercations  at  taverns 
and  stage  offices,  as  often  reminded,  that  u  citizen  in  one  district  was  a 
stranger  in  another  of  the  same  country. 


ri     ''■ 


■* 


182 


MISSISSIPPI    VALLFV. 


Between  the  general  failure  of  the  western  banks  and  the  operation  of 
this  system,  western  dealers  were  driven  to  llie  extremely  burdensome 
and  precarious  resource  of  Hpecio  in  their  foreign  transactions.  Business 
and  trade  were  brouglit  to  a  de:id  pause.  Words  would  be  unavailing  to 
convey  an  idea  of  the  embarrassment  and  uijlrcss  occasioned  by  this 
order  of  things.  Tiie  evils  were  spread  along  a  course  of  two  thousand 
miles;  and  were  experienced  in  the  remote  cabins,  as  well  as  the  towns, 
and  villages  on  the  rivers.  Though  of  an  eflicacy  to  cieate  much  misery, 
they  wiire  so  concealed  from  the  public  eye  and  ear,  as  to  create  little 
sympathy  or  commiseration  for  the  suilerers.  It  will  be  well  if  history 
and  remembrance  preserve  these  salutary  lessons,  as  solemn  warnings  to 
prevent  the  recurrence  of  a  similar  bank  mania  for  the  future. 

The  result  of  a  sound  and  uniform  currency  was  seen  in  the  restora- 
tion of  business  and  credit;  and  commerce  sprung  up,  like  a  Phccnix, 
from  its  ashes.  Shapeless  and  mean  looking  villages  became  towns; 
and  the  towns  in  neatness  and  beauty  began  to  compare  with  tliose  in 
the  Atlantic  country.  The  best  evidence  of  the  change,  wrought  by  this 
order  of  things  is,  that  produce  and  every  species  of  vendible  jjroperty 
rose  to  double  and  triple  its  value,  during  the  season  of  general  embarrass- 
ment. Since  then,  tlie  progress  of  the  AVcst  in  improvement  and  pros- 
perity has  been  as  rapid,  as  her  citizens  could  reasonably  desire. 

Immigration.  Before  entering  upon  a  topographical  description  of 
tlie  states  and  territories,  we  deem  it  right  to  dwell  a  little  on  the  circum- 
stances connected  with  emigration.  In  a  country,  an  immense  proportion 
of  which  is  yet  wilderness,  containing  a  hundred  thousand  log  cabins, 
and  annually  receiving  twice  that  number  of  immigrants,  a  sketch  of  the 
circumstances,  under  which  they  remove,  and  make  their  beginnings  in 
the  forest,  cannot  be  without  its  interest  or  utility.  This  work,  having 
for  its  chief  object  the  physical  features  and  circumstances  of  the  West, 
seems  to  call  for  such  an  outline,  which  we  draw  entirely  from  our  own 
observation  and  experience.  Nor  will  an  intelligent  enquirer  turn  away 
from  a  view  of  these  rustic  touches,  when  calling  to  mind,  that  all,  which 
any  part  of  our  country  can  show  of  elegance,  power  und  improvement, 
was  cradled  in  similar  beginnings;  and  that  it  was  by  these  arts,  that  our 
whole  country  became  what  it  is;  that  the  transition  from  cabins  to  man- 
sions, and  from  settlements  to  cities  has  taken  place  under  our  own 
observation ;  and  that  the  germs,  which  we  are  describing,  promise  to 
evolve  a  vast  and  flourishing  empire,  to  which  imagination  may  hardly 
assign  bounds.  Still  less  will  they  be  indificrcnt  to  the  patriot  and  phi- 
lanthropist, if  we  furnish  evidence,  that  no  human  condition  is  more 
susceptible  of  plenty,  indcpendcuce,  aiid  tlie  best  enjoyments,  which  the 


IMMrfiRATiniV. 


183 


«\arlh  can  oflbr,  flian  tliJit  of  the  fenanfs  ol'  lo^j  c;ibInH,  who  turn  the  soil, 
which  share  iiovov  fiirrovvodhorore.  .  r; 

To  the  ciil)in  (IwolU'rs  thomsclvrf!,  who  hvc  nmitlst  what  wc  describe, 
sncli  sketches  may  he  (rraluiloiis.     iJut  we  hope,  they  will  Jiavc  interest, 
with  anotlier  class  of  readers,  w  ho  have  ideas  as  indistinct  of  the  modes 
nnd  contrivances  of  a  settler  on  the  virpin  soil,  as  those  of  the  colonistg 
of  the  Greeks  in  Asia  Minor,  or  the  Romans  in  Spain,  Gaul,  and  Africa. 
With  what  intense  interest  sliould  we  now  read  the  diary  of  one  of  the 
first  settlers  at  Plymoutli,  Jamestown,  or  Mexico,  giving  the  diurnal 
details  of  his  pro(,ness  in  huildin",  enclosinpr,  and  advancing  from  the 
first  necessity  of  a  shelter  from  the  elements,  to  comfort,  convenience  and 
elegance!     The  mind  delights  to  trace  miglity  streams  to  their  fountains; 
nnd  the  powt>r,  improvement  and  si)lendor  of  states  to  the  germ  of  their 
inception.     .H(»w  few  traces,  hy  Which  to  gratify  this  interest,  remain. 
To  the  greater  number  of  even  western  readers  a  faithfid  picture  of 
the  primitive  habitations  of  the  country,  and  the  result  of  the  first  eflbrts 
of  agriculture  presents  a  view  of  things  already  gone  by.     Our  ideas  of 
the  first  cabins  of  the  Puritans  at  Plymouth,  their  first  planting  and  garden- 
ing, their  first  social  intercourse  and  festivities,  by  which  they  solaced 
their  solitude  and  privations,  arc  but  dim  and  uncertain  imaginings. 
Even  these  memorials  of  the  beginnings  of  the  French  in  Illinois  and 
Louisiana  are  fist  perishing  unrecorded  from  vision  and  memory. 

But  the  chief  utility,  which  we  hope  from  the  following  sketch,  is  to 
enable  the  reader,  who  contemplates  l)Ccoming  an  immigrant,  to  acquaint 
himself  in  advance  with  some  of  the  circumstances  of  his  undertaking, 
and  to  anticipate  what  he  may  be  called  to  do,  enjoy,  or  suflfer. 

We  would  bo  glad  to  furnish  him  with  some  elements,  on  which  to 
settle  the  expediency  of  immigration  in  advance ;  by  showing  him  in  con- 
trast some  of  its  intrinsic  advantages  and  disadvantages.  If  a  just 
balance  could  be  struck  between  the  actual  enjoyment  of  those,  who  live, 
and  die  in  the  old  settled  portions  of  the  country,  and  those,  who  emi- 
grate, and  settle  in  tlic  wilderness,  every  actual  immigrant  will  admit, 
that  it  would  be  far  from  being  an  abstract  discussion  of  the  nature  and 
chances  of  happiness. 

The  advantnges  and  disadvantages  of  emigration  in  the  abstract  are 
partly  physical,  partly  moral.  The  inducements  to  it  arise,  with  most  of 
our  actions,  from  mixed  rriotives.  The  greater  part  of  the  European 
emigrants,  particularly  the  Germans,  flying  from  poverty  and  oppression, 
come  to  the  West  with  the  unmixed  motives  to  become  free  land  holders, 
and  to  purchase  cheap  and  rich  lands.  But  the  case  is  otherwise  with  the 
far  greater  portion  of  tliose,  who  emigrate  from  the  old  states  of  our 
own  country.    Imagination  exercises  more  influence  even  upon  minds 


>.  It 


i  m 


•r^ 


m 


iMiHSHHirri  VAi.i.r.Y. 


tlio  most  un(duc:it«'(l,  tli;m  \\r  nro  nvuly  to  suppose.  Tlioro  it)  no 
iMTsoM,  .'iboiit  to  pliu-c  liiiiisrir  ill  II  iviiintr  tiiitl  ttiilriod  position,  Ixil  will 
IiikI  on  rxiiiniiiatioii,  licit  lli(>  new  .mcimic,  viewed  in  aiitiei|>;ition,  is  in- 
V(<sle(l  with  a  eolorinu  of  llie  iiii;i.<,'iii:ili(iii,  that  has  a  powerful  hearint^ 
upon  his  tlioii;r|ilH  and  (leteiininttioiis.  AVIiat  mind  ever  contemplated 
the  project  of  movini,'  from  tlie  old  Metlleinents  over  tiie  Allej/hany  moun- 
tains, iiiul  seleelin",'  a  home  in  the  West,  without  formiiij,'  pietiires  of  now 
woods  and  streams,  new  aninialu  and  veirelahles,  new  eon(if,'uriitions  of 
seenery,  now  a.siM'els  of  men  atid  new  forms  of  soeiely,  novelty  in  the 
most  setlleil  mental  nssoeialions  with  llio  ])henomena  of  natnn*,  winds, 
clouds,  rains,  snows,  thunder,  aiul  all  llu>  a»eid(Mds  o(  climate,  new  hopes, 
in  n  word,  of  ehasinu;  «h)wn,  in  a  new  and  fir  eounfiy,  that  phantom  of 
oiir  desin^s,  always  pursued  in  ihiii^s  without  us,  and  never  found  oxoept 
vilhin  us,  happiness? 

After  the  lonjr  vexed  question  whether  to  remove  or  not,  is  settled, 
Ity  consulliny  friends,  travellers  and  hooks,  the  next  slep  is  to  select  the 
route,  niul  arranye  the  preparations  for  it.  The  univei-sality  and  cheapness 
of  steam  hoat  and  canal  passa/ji' and  iransporl,  have  caused,  that  more 
than  half  thiMvhole  lunnlx-r  of  iuuiiiuraiils  iinw  arrive  in  llie  West  by 
water.  This  remark  a])plies  lo  nim*  tenths  of  those  that  come  from 
Europe  and  the  northern  stales.  'I'hey  thus  eseajx^  much  of  the  exi^nso, 
slowness,  inconvenienco  and  tlan^er  of  the  anei(>iit  cumlirous  and  tire- 
some journey  in  wajjons.  'I'hey  no  lon^'er  experience  the  former 
vexations  of  incessant  altercation  with  landlords,  mutual  charjTCs  of 
dishonesty,  discomfort  from  now  luoiles  of  speech  and  reckoning  money, 
from  breaking  d»)wn  carriages  and  wearing  out  horses. 

But  the  steam  boats  niul  canal  boats  have  their  disadvantages.  Cast  pcr- 
liaps  for  tlie  firet  time  among  a  mixeil  company  of  strangers,  the  bashful 
mother  and  the  nueasy  and  curious  chiliheu  present  an  ample  specimen 
of  their  domestic  training;  and  how  much  they  liave  profited  by  that 
universal  education,  a  "it  which  every  one  talks.  But  though  tliey  may 
mutually  annoy,  and  bo  .  nnoyed,  their  curiosity  is  constantly  excited, 
and  gratified;  their  hunger  al;undantly  appeased;  and  they  occasionally 
form  i)leasant  iutimaei«>s  with  their  fellow  travellers.  Tf  travelling  be  a 
mode  of  enioymeut,  these  unsated  and  uuliackneyeil  travellers  probably 
find,  on  the  whole,  a  balance  of  enjoyment  in  favor  of  tlie  journey  of 
immigration. 

The  chances  are  still  more  Hworablc  for  liic  immiirrants  from  Virginia, 
tlie  two  Carolinas  and  tieorgia,  wlio,  from  their  habits  and  relative  posi- 
tion, still  immigrate,  after  the  ancient  fasliiou,  in  the  southern  wagon. 
This  is  a  vehicle  almost  unknown  at  the  north,  sirong.  comfortable, 
counnotlioui?,  coataining  uot  only  a  movable  kitcJieu  ,  but  provisions  and 


ajiiitip 


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iMVKMJAi'roy, 


18:i 


Ii('(Ih.  Dr.iwii  liy  fniii  or  six  lioisc:,  il  siilisorvrs  nil  llm  v;iri«)iis  iiilrntinns 
»if  house,  slirltiT  :iiii|  Ii;iiis|>'trl ;  mid  is,  in  l^icl,  the  soulliciii  ship  of  tlie 
Coii'sfH  iiiid  |ir.iiri('H,  Tlic  limscs,  ||i;ii  ((nivcy  llir  \v:);^roii,  ;in;  l;ir;^'n  Jind 
pdwcirid  iiiiiiii  d-i,  fullo  v<d  l.y  S('i\.iii|t<,  nilllc,  sIiit|»,  swiiio,  dn>rH,  llio 
\\lin|(>  (uniiiti.'f  :i  priiiiili\('  (••ir;iv;iii  ik.i  nnwuilliy  dl'  iiiicicnt  diiys,  Jiiid  llio 
])liiiiis  of  IMiimc.  'I'lic  |)rucr's<ii)ii  mmucs  on  \\i(li  jiowx-r  in  il8  diisl, 
jiMllinf,'  to  sliMiiic  ;iiid  iiiicoinCnil  d>h'  !"< cliii'/;!  oC  <•()m|>al•i^ior^  llio  nortlicrii 
l;iiiiily,\vitli  flicir  f  li'^Iil  wi/jnii,  j  ujcrl  Ikhs  s  niid  siilidiicd,  lli()ii;^li  ((;;dr)US 
coiiiifciiJiricc.i.  Tlicir  vcliiclr  ;;|i/i>s;  :iiid  llicy  Hcan  llic  slroii;,' suiillicrii 
liidk,  with  its  chiiiKs  ol"  liclls,  its  f.il  hhick  (hivora  und  its  loiijr  tiuiii  ol' 
coiicoiiiitiiiits,  until  lh(  y  li.nr  swept  hy. 

lVrli!i|)H  nioic  Ihiiii  iiill"  thi'  iKiiihrin  iiiiiiii^rnnts  nrrivo  nt  jirrsoiit  Ity 
\v:iy  (•!'  the  ,\'c\v  \'(>ik  «;iii:d  iiid  l:iKc  I'.ric.  if  their  (Icsliniilioii  bu  the 
upper  w.ilcrs  ()(■  thd  AV;d»;isli,  they  di'li:nl;  !it  Siiiitliisky,  iMid  colilinuo 
their  roiito  uitlidut  Mppnujehiui;  iIk;  (Mii(».  Tlie  «rre u«'r  nuiiiher  muko 
tlieir  \v;iy  iVcm  th(!  I;dve  Ik  llic  Ohio,  either  hy  the  IJio  ii:i(l  Ohio,  or  tliO 
|);iyt(M»  CMiini.  I''rnn«  ;dl  poinds,  rxcept,  tliose  west  ol"  tho  (iuy:iii(lot 
route  iiiid  the  inlioii;)!  n»;i(l,  wlieii  ihey  nrrive  ;il  l!:e  ( )hio,  or  its  naviifiiblc 
waters,  the  <.rr<'aier  iiMiiilnr  ol"  the  I'miiiies  M  iko  v/ai.'v.''  Muiiifrauts  IVom 
I'ennsylvania  w  ill  heMceloiward  reach  the  ( )hi()  on  tlie  yreat  IN^nnsylvaiiia 
ranal,  and  will  '  take;  water''  at  Pittsl)nr<;li.  If  bound  to  Indiana,  llliiu)is 
or  Missouri,  they  huild,  or  purchase  a  family  lujat.  IMany  of  these  boats 
arcM'ond'ortahly  filled  up,  and  ar;;  neiihcr  inconvenient,  nor  unpleasant 
lloaliiiif  lious<'s.  Two  or  threi^  I'loiilies  sonu;tinies  (it  u|)  ;i.  Iari.ro  boat  in 
partnership,  juirchaso  an 'Ohio  pilot,"' a  1)0()k  thai  professes  to  instruct 
flieni  in  the  mysteries  of  uaviifatiu'i-  thi>  ()hio;  and  ii*  the  Ohio  be  mode- 
rately hi;;h,  and  tlu;  wealher  p!e:iH:ml,  this  voyage,  unalteiuled  with  either 
dilllcnlly  or  dau'jvr,  is  onlinarily  a  tri[)  ol"  pleasure.  Wc  need  hardly 
add,  that  a  <rroal  nunihcr  ol"  th.;  wealthier  er.u;,M'ant  families  take  i)assago 
in  a  steam  boal. 

While  tho  soutlKMuer  fuids  tho  auiumud  and  vernal  season  on  tho  Oiiio 
loo  cool,  to  tho  northerner  it  is  teir.porate  and  dcdii,ditful.  VVhciU  tlie  first 
wreaths  of  mornin;^'  mist  ww.  rolled  away  from  tho  stream  by  tlie  bright 
sun,  disclosinif  tho  ancient  woods,  tho  hoary  bbills,  and  the  graceful 
curves  and  wiudinos  of  the  Um:;'  lino  ol"  ohanuel  abov(Muid  below,  the 
rich  alluvial  bell  and  tlio  lino  orcluuds  on  ils  shore?,  tjio  (lesccndinir  voy- 
aiiers  must  be  dcslitulo  of  the  reanmon  ]x.'rce))tions  of  the  beautiful,  if 
lliey  do  not  enjoy  the;  voyage,  and  liad  i!i(!  Ohio,  in  llio  French  phrase, 
La  belle  riviere. 

After  the  inniii'^ranis  have  arr!v(Ml  at  (".'inciiuiati,  Ijoxinglon,  Nashville, 
t>t.  Louis,  or  St.  Charles,  in  the  \i(iiilly  of  the  points,  where  they  liad 
auliciiiitc'd  to  ii.'w   tWmsdvcs,  a   javIiiuiiKny    dilHculiy,  and   one  of 

21 


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Photographic 

Sdences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STIEET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MSM 

(716)S72-4503 


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186 


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.Mississjirri  VALiiKV. 


difficult  solution  is,  to  (Icierinino  to  what  quarlcr  to  repair.     All  tlic 

towns  swarm   with  speculating  coni[)aiiies   aiul  hind  agents;  and  the 

chance  is,  that  the  first  inquiries  for  iuformalion  in  this  perplexity  will 

be  addressed  to  them,  or  to  persons  wlio  liave  a  common  understanding 

and  interest  with  them.     Tiic  published  information,  too,  comes  directly 

or  indirectly  from  them,  in  furtherance  of  their  views.  One  advises  to 

the  Wabash,  and  points  on  the  mnj)  to  the  rich  lands,  fine  mill  scats, 

navigable  streams  and  growing  towns  in  tlieir  vicinity.     Another  presents 

a  still  more  alluring  picture  of  the  land,^  in  some  part  of  Illinois,  Missouri, 

the  region  west  of  the  lakes,  and  the  lead  mines.     Anodier  tempts  him 

with  White  River,  Arkansas,  Red  River,  Opelousas,  and  Attakapas,  tiie 

rich  crops  of  cotton  and  sugar,  and  the  escape  from  winter,  which  they 

offer.     Still  another  company  has  its  nets  set  in  all  the  points,  where 

immigrants  congregate,  blazoning  all  the  advantages  of  Texas,  and  the 

Mexican  country.     In  Cincimiati,  more  tJian  in  any  other  town,  there 

are  generally  precursors  from  all  points  of  the  compass,  to  select  lands  for 

companies,  that  are  to  follow.     Tlicre  arc  sucli  here  at  present  both  from 

Europe  and  New  England ;  and  we  read  advertiscnaents,  that  a  thousand 

persons  are  shortly  to  meet  at  St.  Louis  to  form  a  company  to  cross  the 

Rocky  Mountains,  with  a  view  to  select  settlements  on  the  Oregon. 

When  this  slow  and  perplexing  process  of  balancing,  comparing  and 
fluctuating  between  the  choice  of  rivers,  districts,  climates  and  advanta- 
ges, is  fixed,  after  determination  has  vibrated  backwards  and  forwards 
according  to  the  persuasion  and  eloquence  of  the  last  adviser,  until  the 
purpose  of  the  immigrant  is  fixed,  the  northern  settler  is  generally  borne 
to  the  point  of  debarkation,  nearest  his  selected  spot,  by  water.  He 
thence  hires  the  transport  of  his  family  and  movables  to  the  spot;  though 
not  a  few  nortliern  emigrants  move  all  the  distance  in  wagons.  The 
whole  number  from  the  north  far  exceeds  that  from  tlie  south.  But  they 
drop,  in  noiseless  quietness,  into  their  position,  and  the  rapidity  of  their 
progress  in  settling  a  country  is  only  presented  by  the  startling  results  of 
the  census. 

The  southern  settlers  who  immigrate  to  Missouri  and  the  country  south 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  by  their  show  of  wagons,  flocks  and  rmmbers 
create  observation,  and  are  counted  quite  as  numerous,  as  they  are.  Ten 
viragons  are  often  seen  in  company.  It  is  a  fair  allowance,  that  a  hundred 
cattle,  beside  swine,  horses  and  s!  ecp,  and  six  negroes  accompany  each. 
The  train,  with  the  tinkling  of  an  hundred  bells,  and  the  negroes, 
wearing  the  delighted  expression  of  a  holiday  suspension  from  labor  in 
their  countenances,  forming  one  groiij),  and  the  family  slowly  moving 
forward,  forming  another,  as  (he  whole  is  nQen  advancing  along  the  plains, 
it  presents  a  pleasiiig  and  picturesque  spectacle. 


•V 


'^' 


I  / 


IMMK;  RANTS. 


187 


Tliey  make  arrangements  at  niulit  i'lll  to  halt  at  a  spring,  Avhcre  tliere 
IS  wood  and  water,  and  a  green  Kward  for  eneampmcnt.  The  dogs  raise 
their  accustomed  domestic  baying.  The  teams  arc  unharnessed,  and  the 
cattle  and  horses  turned  loose  info  the  grass.  The  blacks  are  busy  in 
spreading  the  cheerful  taldc  in  tlic  wilderness,  and  preparing  the  supper, 
to  which  the  appetite  of  fatigue  gives  zest.  They  talk  over  the  incidents 
of  the  past  day,  and  anticipate  tliosc  of  the  morrow.  If  wolves  and 
owls  are  heard  in  the  distance,  these  desert  soimds  servo  to  render  the 
contrast  of  their  society  and  security  more  sensible.  In  this  order  they 
plunge  deeper  and  deeper  into  tl:e  forest  or  prairie,  until  they  have 
found  tlie  place  of  their  rest. 

The  position  for  a  cabin  generally  selected  by  the  western  settlers  is 
a  gentle  eminence  near  a  spring,  or  what  is  called  a  branch,  central  to  a 
spacious  tract  of  fertile  land.  Such  spots  are  generally  occupied  by 
tulip  and  black  walnut  trees,  intermixed  with  the  beautiful  comusflorida 
and  red  bud,  the  most  striking  llowiring  ylirnhs  of  the  western  forest. 

Springs  burst  forth  in  the  intervals  between  the  high  and  low  grounds. 
The  brilliant  red  bird  seen  (lifting  among  the  shrubs,  or  perched  on  a 
tree,  in  its  mellow  whistle  seems  welcoming  the  immigrant  to  his  new 
abode.  Flocks  of  paroquets  are  glittering  among  the  trees,  and  gray 
squirrels  are  skipping  from  brancli  to  branch.  The  chanticleer  rings  his 
echoing  note  among  the  woods,  and  the  domestic  sounds  and  the  baying 
of  the  dogs  produce  a  strange  cheerfulness,  as  heard  in  the  midst  of  trees> 
where  no  habitation  is  seen.  I'leiisiug  rcfleciions  and  liappy  associations' 
are  naturally  connected  with  the  coutcmplation  of  these  Ijeginnings  of 
social  toil  in  the  wilderness. 

In  tlic  midst  of  these  solitary  and  primeval  scenes  the  patient  and  labori- 
ous father  fixes  his  family.  In  a  few  days  a  comfortable  cabin  and  other 
out  buildings  are  erected.  The  first  year  gives  a  plentiful  crop  of  corn, 
and  common  and  sweet  potatoes,  melons,  squashes,  turnips  and  other 
garden  vegetables.  The  next  year  a  field  of  wheat  is  added,  and  lines 
of  thrifty  apple  trees  show  among  the  deadened  trees.  If  tlie  immigrant 
possess  any  touch  of  horticultural  taste,  the  finer  kinds  of  pear,  plum, 
cherry,  peach,  nectarine  and  apricot  trees  are  found  in  the  garden.  In 
ten  years  the  log  buildings  will  all  have  disappeared,  the  shrub  and 
forest  trees  will  be  gone.  The  arcadian  aspect  of  humble  and  retired 
abundance  and  comfort  will  have  given  place  to  a  brick  house,  or  a  planted 
frame  house,  with  fences  and  out  buildings  very  like  those,  that  surround 
abodes  in  the  olden  countries. 

It  is  a  wise  arrangement  of  provi<lcnce,  ihat  dificrcnt  minds  are  endowed 
with  diflerent  tastes  and  predilections,  fliat  lead  some  to  choose  the  town, 
others  manufactures,  and  the  village  callings.    It  seems  to  us  that  no 


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condition,  in  ilsclf  considered,  i)roniis(s  more  coniioit,  and  lends  more 
to  virtue  and  indepenclciicc,  tli;in  iJint  of  llie.-o  western  yeomen,  with 
their  numerous,  healthy  and  li:ii>i»y  chiklren  about  them;  with  tlie  ample 
abundance  of  their  ;.Maii;iiioH;  Uieir  liihilatioii  ,siiii(>niided  by  orchards, 
the  branches  of  which  must  be  propped  \o  on-^l.tiu  tlieir  Iruil,  beside  their 
beautiful  streams  and  cool  beach  woods,  and  the  prospect  of  settling,' 
each  of  their  children  on  similar  farms  directly  around  them.  Their 
manners  may  have  somethinj^  of  the  roni^'hness  imparted  by  living  in 
solitude  among  the  trees;  but  it  is  kindly,  hos[)itable,  frank,  and  associa- 
ted witli  the  traits,  that  constitute  the  st;il)ility  of  our  republic.  Wo 
apprehend,  such  farmers  would  hardly  be  willing  to  exchange  this  plenty, 
and  this  range  of  their  simple  domains,  their  well  filled  granaries, 
and  their  droves  of  domestic  animals  for  any  mode  of  life,  that  a  town 
can  offer.  ■% 

No  order  of  things  presents  so  palpable  a  view  of  the  onward  march 
of  American  institutions  as  this.  The  greater  portion  of  these  immigrants, 
beside  tlieir  wives,  a  few  benches  and  chairs,  a  bible  and  a  gun,  com- 
menced with  little  more  than  their  hands.  Their  education  for  the  most 
part,  exlended  no  farther  than  reading  and  writing,  and  their  aspirations 
had  never  strayed  beyond  the  desire  of  making  a  farm.  But  a  sense  of 
relative  consequence  is  fostered  l>y  their  growing  possessions,  and  by 
perceiving  towns,  counties,  offices  and  candidates  springing  up  around 
them.  One  becomes  a  justice  of  peace,  another  a  county  judge  and 
another  a  member  of  the  legislative  assembly.  Each  one  assumes  some 
municipal  function,  pertaining  to  schools,  the  settlement  of  a  minister, 
the  making  of  roads,  bridges,  and  public  works.  A  sense  of  responsibility 
to  public  opinion,  self  respect,  and  a  due  estimation  of  character  and 
correct  deportment  are  the  consequence.  '  "  * 

'  This  pleasant  view  of  the  commencement  and  progress  of  an  immi- 
grant is  the  external  one.  Unhappily  there  is  another  point  of  view, 
from  which  we  may  learn  something  what  has  been  passing  in  his  mind, 
during  tliis  physical  onward  progress. 

All  the  members  of  the  •  establishment  have  been  a  hundred  times 
afflicted  with  that  gloomy  train  of  feeling,  for  which  we  have  no  better 
name,  than  home  sickness.  Ail  the  vivid  perceptions  of  enjoyment  of 
the  forsaken  place  are  keenly  remembered,  the  sorrows  overlooked,  or 
forgotten.  The  distant  birth  place,  the  remembrance  of  years,  that  arc 
gone,  returning  to  memory  amidst  the  actual  struggles  of  forming  a  new 
establishment,  an  effort  full  of  severe  labOr,  living  in  a  new  world, 
making  acquaintance  with  a  new  nature,  competing  with  strangers, 
always  seeming  to  uneducated  people,  as  they  did  to  the  ancients,  as 
enemies,  these  contrasts  of  the  present  with  the  mellowed  visions  of 


grant 


.*5; 


*r«n 


niMIUllATIn:,-. 


189 


memory  all  kml  lo  Ijitlcrnc?.^.  ^\'c  iur:v\-  ii'vUistaud,  liow  mnny  invisi- 
ble tics  of  liahit  \V(!  pcvcr  in  Icavinjj  tjur  coiinlrv,  niilil  wc  liml  ourselves 
in  a  strange  land.  Tlie  old  pursuit;-!,  and  Avays  of  jKishing  time,  of  v.hich 
wc  took  little  notn,  a^i  tlicy  jtiissccl,  wliciv-  llr.To  mv  new  lurnisof  society, 
new  institutions,  iiLW  \v;  ys  of  niann^'ing  every  thing,  that  hdungs  to  the 
social  edifice,  in  a  word,  a  (■(inii)]t'le  change  of  tho  whole  circle  of  associ- 
ations feelings  and  hahits,  cfincovcr  tlu?  mind,  liko  a  cloud. 

The  immigrant,  in  the  pride  of  his  reincinhrances,  begins  to  extol  tho 
country,  he  has  left,  its  inhabitanl.-j,  hnv?-,  institutions.  The  listener  has 
an  equal  stock  of  oppo.«itc  i)rrjudices.  The  pride  (jf  tlic  one  wounds 
the  pride  of  the  other.  The  weakness  of  human  nature  is  never  more 
obvious,  than  in  these  meetings  of  neighbors  in  a  new  country,  each  fierce 
and  loud  in  extolling  his  own  country,  and  detracting  from  all  others  in 
the  comparison.  These  ntirrow  and  \ile  prejudices  spread  from  family 
to  family,  and  create  litth;  clans  political,  social,  religious,  hating,  and 
hated.  No  generous  project  for  a  scliool,  church,  liIjrary,or  public  insti- 
tution, on  a  broad  and  ccpial  scale,  can  luospcr,  amidst  sucii  an  order  of 
things.  It  is  a  sulTiclent  reason,  that  one  cl  in  proposes  it,  for  another 
to  oppose  it.  All  this  sjHings  from  one  of  the  deepest  instincts  of  our 
nature,  a  love  of  country,  wliich,  like  a  transplanted  tree,  in  removing  has 
too  many  fibres  broken  oil",  to  flourish  at  once  in  a  new  soil.  The  immi- 
grant meets  with  sickness,  misfortune,  disaster.  Tliere  are  j)cculiar 
strings  in  the  const itutit.n  of  ]:innan  nature,  wliich  incline  him  to  repine, 
and  imagine,  that  the  same  things  would  not  have  befallen  him  in  his  former 
abode.  He  even  finds  the  vegetables,  fruits,  and  meats,  though  appa- 
rently finer,  less  savory  and  nutritive,  tjian  tliosc  of  tiie  old  country. 
Under  the  pressure  of  such  illusions,  many  an  immigrant  has  forsaken 
his  cabin,  returned  to  his  parent  country,  found  this  mockery  of  hia 
fancies  playing  at  cross  purposes  with  him,  and  showing  him  an  aban- 
doned paradise  in  tlie  western  woods,  and  father  land  the  country  of 
penury  and  disaster.  A  second  removal,  perhaps,  instructs  him,  that 
most  of  the  causes  of  our  dissatisf  iclion  luid  disgust,  that  we  imagine 
have  their  origin  in  external  things,  really  exist  in  the  mind. 

To  the  emigrants  from  towns  and  villages  in  the  Atlantic  country, 
though  they  may  have  thought  little  of  religious  institutions  at  home, 
the  absence  of  the  church  with  its  spire,  and  its  sounds  of  the  church- 
going  bell,  of  the  village  bustle,  and  the  prating  of  the  village  tavern 
are  felt,  as  serious  privations.  The  religious  discourses  so  boisterous 
and  vehement,  and  in  a  tone  and  phrase  so  dillerent  fiom  the  calm  tenor 
of  what  he  used  to  hear,  at  first  produce  a  painful  revulsion  not  wholly 
unmixed  with  disgust.  lie  finds  no  longer  those  little  circles  of  com- 
pany,  into  which  he  used  to  drop,  to  relax  a  leisure  hour,  which,  it  may 


I'?  I 

r 


I 


I'i 


100 


MISRlSSirn    VAI.l.KY. 


1)0,  wrro  not  nmcli  prizorl  in  flu*  nijoyriirnf ;  l»iit  arr  now  fclf,  ns  n  serious 
want.  Nothing  Hiinrks  liini  so  inncli,  ns  lo  sec  liis  iicii^^lihor  sicken,  nnd 
die,  uiisolnced  by  llie  voico  ol"  rcliL'ions  iiislnictioti  nnd  pniycT,  nnd 
carried  to  liis  loiij,'  lioiiic  williont  i'liiicrid  services.  Tliese  arc  some  of 
the  circnnistances,  tliat,  in  llie  new  seftleinents,  <all  up  the  tender  rccol*- 
lections  of  a  forsaken  Jionic  to  enihifter  the  present. 

These  arc  tlio  dark  sides  of  the  jiictim;  of  iinniii,natioii.  But  there  !.«?, 
jierhaps  less  romance  in  the  American  charader,  than  in  that  of  any 
other  people ;  and  every  thing  in  our  insli(nfi(»ns  tends  to  banish  tho 
little,  that  remains.  We  are  a  people  to  (jsliniale  vendible  and  tangible 
realities.  Imaginary  and  luireal  sorrows  and  <lisgnsls  gradually  yield 
before  an  estimate  of  the  value  of  abundance  and  independence.  More 
tlian  half  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  country  still  dwell  in  cabins;  and 
to  those  who  know,  how  much  general  eonlenlnient  with  Iheir  lot,  moral 
nnd  sturdy  hardiiiood,  guileless  honesfy,  and  blilheness  of  heart  theso 
liumble  establishments  generally  contain,  they  bring  associations  ofrc- 
pofie  and  abstraction  from  ambitious  and  Jirtiliciiil  wants,  and  jjresent  on 
the  whole,  a  balance  of  real  and  hoinefelt  comfort  and  enjoyment. 

The  first  business  is  to  clear  away  tlio  tre(;s  from  the  spot  where  the 
house  is  to  stand.  The  general  construction  of  a  west  country  cabin  is 
after  the  following  flishion.  Straight  trees  are  felled  of  a  si/e,  tliat  a 
common  team  can  draw,  or  as  tlic  phrase  is  '  snake,'  ihcm  to  the  intended 
spot.  The  common  form  of  a  larger  cabin  is  that,  called  a  '  double  cabin;' 
that  is,  two  square  pens  with  an  ofien  space  between,  coimected  by  a  roof 
above  and  a  floor  below.so  as  to  form  a  parallelogram  of  nearly  triple  the 
length  of  its  depth.  In  the  open  space  the  family  take  their  meals  during 
the  pleasant  weather ;  and  it  serves  the  threefold  i)urpose  of  kitchen,  lumber 
room,  and  dining  room.  The  logs,  of  which  it  is  composed,  are  notched 
on  to  one  another,  in  the  formof  as(]uarc.  The  roof  is  covered  with  thin 
splits  of  oak,  not  unlike  staves.  Sometimes  they  arc  made  of  ash,  and 
in  the  lower  country  of  cypress,  and  they  are  called  clap  boards.  Instead 
of  being  nailed,  they  are  generally  confined  in  their  place  by  heavy  tim- 
bers, laid  at  right  angles  across  them.  This  gives  the  roof  of  a  log  liouse 
an  u?iique  and  shaggy  appearance.  But  if  the  clap  boards  have  been 
carefully  prepared  from  good  timber  they  fcjrm  a  roof  sulHciently  imper- 
vious to  common  rains.  The  floors  arc  made  from  short  and  thick  plank, 
split  from  yellow  poplar,  cotton  wood,  black  walnut,  and  sometimes  oak. 
They  are  confined  with  wooden  pins,  and  are  technically  called  '  pun- 
cheons.' 

The  southern  people,  and  generally  the  more  wealthy  immigrants  ad- 
vance in  the  first  instance  to  the  luxury  of  having  the  logs  hewed  on  the 
inside,  and  the  puncheon  floor  hewed,  and  planed,  in  which  case  it  be- 


^v 


% 


'if 


IMMH.'n\T|(»\. 


lUl 


coiiics  a  very  c(»iiifortal»l»;  uml  lutil  lluor.  'VUi  iirxi  sfcp  is  (o  hiiilil  ilio 
oliinuH'y,  which  is  coiisfnictcil  afti^r  llu^  l''r(ii(  li,  (tr  Amciicaii  Hishion. 
The  J'Vciich  UMtiU'  is  a  smaMcr  <|iia(hiiiin^iil;ir  chiiiiiu'v,  laid  up  with  finalhir 
splits.  'J'h(!  vNiiK'iicaii  lashioii  is  to  iiiakoa  iiiiK  li  1  :ir<.'rr  aiuirtiirc,  hiid  up 
with  splits  (tfificat  si/i;  and  wcijjlil.  In  hotli  Iuimih  il  tapers  npwards, 
like  a  pyiaiiii<l.  'I'he  inlcrslircs  arc  (ilh-d  with  a  thick  coatin^r  of  clay, 
and  the  outside;  plaslind  with  clay  niorlar,  prepared  with  chopped  straw, 
or  hay,  and  in  the  lower  coiinlry  witli  loii^r  moss.  Tiic  hearth  is  made 
with  clay  mortar,  or,  ulieie  it  can  lie  louiid,  sind  stones,  as  the  common 
lime  stone  does  not  stand  iIk;  lire.  The  interstices  of  the  lo^'s  in  the 
room  arc  first  'chincked;'  that  is  to  say,  small  hlocksand  pieces  of  wood 
ill  regular  forms  an;  driven  lutweeu  tlii;  int(!rvals,  made  l»y  laying'  tlio 
1();,'S  over  each  other,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  a  coarse  lathing  to  iiold  tho 
mortar. 

The  doors  are  made  of  plank,  .split  in  the  maimer  mentioned  heforo, 
from  fresh  cut  timher;  and  they  are  linn.<r  after  an  inuenious  fashion  on 
large  wooden  hiiif^'cs,  and  fastened  with  a  snhslantial  wooden  latch.  Tho 
windows  aresipiare  apertures,  cut  throuj/h  tin;  loi.'s,and  arc  closed  during 
the  cooler  Jii<ihts  and  the  inclement  weather  I<y  wooden  shutters.  The 
kitchen  and  tho  iic^'ro  (piartc  rs,  if  the  establishment  have  slaves,  are  sepa- 
rate bnildin<fs,  pre})a red  after  the  same  fashion;  but  with  less  care, except 
in  flic  article  of  the  closeness  of  their  rool's.  The  graiiffe,  stable  ami 
corn  houses  arc  all  of  similar  materials,  varied  in  their  construction  to 
answer  their  apj)ropriate  purposes.  About  ten  building's  of  this  sort 
make  up  tlic  ostablishmentof  a  farmer  with  three  or  four  free  hands,  or 
half  a  dozen  slaves. 

The  field,  in  which  the  cabin  is  built,  is  fjcnerally  a  srpiare  or  olilong 
enclosure,  of  which  the  buil(lin<is  are  the  centre,  if  the  owner  be  from  the 
south;  or  in  the  centre  of  one  side  of  the  S(piare,  if  from  the  north.  If 
the  soil  be  not  alluvial,  a  tabic  area  of  rich  upland,  indicated  to  be  such 
by  its  peculiar  growth  of  timber,  is  selected  for  the  spot.  Nine  tenths  of 
the  habitations  in  the  upper  western  staters  are  placed  near  springs,  which 
supply  the  family  with  water.  The  settlers  on  the  prairies,  for  the  most 
part,  fix  tlieir  habitations  in  the  edges  of  the  wood,  that  skirts  the  prairie, 
and  generally  (»btain  their  water  from  wells.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
lower  country,  on  the  contrary,  except  in  the  state  of  Mississippi,  where 
springs  arc  common,  chiefly  supply  themselves  with  water  from  cisterns 
filled  by  rain.  If  the  settlers  have  slaves,  the  trees  are  carefully  cleared 
away,  by  cutting  them  down  near  the  ground.  That  part  of  the  timber, 
which  cannot  be  used  either  for  rails,  or  the  construction  of  the  buildings, 
is  burned,  and  a  clearing  is  thus  made  for  a  considerable  space  round 
the  cabin.    In  the  remaining  portion  of  the  field,  the  trees  undergo  an 


1 

m 

II 

II; 

■  if,'' 

H 

.4.'  - 

ifBn 

> 


1JJ3 


MJSSISSII'PI    VAl.LEV. 


r 


operation,  called  hy  llio  iiorllitrn  pcoph; '  ^iinlliii^r,'  aiul  liy  llio  poiilliorn 
'tlca(li'iiiii<,'.'  Tli;it  is,  fi  cIk  I-  is  cut,  two  oi  tliivc  lent  from  flic 
proiiiid,  (luilc  llivoii'ili  tilt!  l)!irk  of  (iic  trcn,  so  ;is  completely  to  divide 
tlie  vessels,  wliicli  curry  on  tJK;  pror'n  ss  ui'  ciiciiliitioii.  Some  species 
oftrccsarcso  tenacious  of  life,  as  in  tl.iuw  out  leaves,  after  having 
sulFcred  this  operation.  But  tliey  seldom  have  foliaf^e,  after  the  first 
year.  Tlio  smaller  trees  arc  all  rut  down;  and  tlio  accumulated  spoils 
of  vegetable  dccny  arc  l)urned  to;:,'etIicr;  ruul  the  aslrs  contribute  to  the 
prcat  fertility  of  the  viririu  soil.  Iftlio  tirld  rdiifniu  iirul)fr  for  rails,  the 
object  is  to  cut  as  miiclii'S  possible  on  iIk;  (hviiiii'i;  thus  advancing  the 
double  purj)Ose  of  clearing  away  tlie  trees,  and  ])i('p;iring  the  rails,  so  as 
to  require  the  least  possible  distance  of  removal.  An  experienced  hand 
will  split  from  an  Inmdred  to  an  hundred  ami  fifty  raiJH  in  a  day.  Such 
is  the  convenience  of  fmdin'r  them  on  the  ground  to  be  fenced,  that 
Kentucky  planters  and  the  soutliern  ]ieo])lo  generally  prefer  timbered 
land  to  prairie;  notwilhstrnding  IIk;  circiimsiance,  so  unsightly  and  in- 
convenient to  a  northern  man,  of  dead  trees,  slumps,  and  roots,  which, 
strewed  in  every  direction  over  bis  field,  even  tlio  southern  planter  finds 
a  great  preliminary  impediment  in  the  way  of  cultivation.  Tlie  northern 
people  i)refcr  to  settle  on  the  prairie  land,  where  it  can  be  hud  in  con- 
venient positions. 

The  rails  arc  laid  zigzng,  one  length  running  nearly  at  riglit  angles  to 
the  other.  'J'his  in  w(  st  country  jjlu'rise,  is  '  worm  fence,'  and  in  the 
northern  dialect '  VirL;iiiia  fence.'  Tlie  rails  arc  large  and  heavy,  and  to 
turn  the  wild  cattle  and  horses  of  the  counlry,  require  to  be  laid  ten  rails 
orsix  feet  in  height.  The  smaller  roots  and  the  underbrush  are  cleared 
from  the  ground  by  a  sharp  hoc,  known  by  the  nani.e  ^ grubbing  hoc. ^ 
This  implement,  \yith  a  cross  cut  sav,  a  irJiip  fiaw,  a  hand  sme,  axes,  a 
broad  axe,  an  adze,  an  aiiii;rr,  a  haninirr,  nails',  and  an  iron  tool  to  split 
clap  boards,  constitute  the  indispensable  aj»i)aratus  for  a  backwoodsman. 
The  smoke  house,  spring  house,  and  oilier  common  appendages  of  such 
an  establishment  it  is  unnecessary  to  describe;  for  they  are  the  same  as  in 
the  establishment  of  the  farmers  in  the  middlo  and  southern  Atlantic 
states. 

A  peach  orchard  is  generally  the  first  object  in  raising  fruit;  because 
it  is  easily  made,  and  begins  to  bear  the  second  or  tlurd  year.  Apple 
orchards  with  all  good  farmers  are  early  objects  of  attention.  Theculli 
vation  of  the  more  (lelic:'to  giirdeii  fruits  is  generally  an  object  of  after 
attention,  if  at  all,  Miui-.e  is  [)l;:ii1cd  tlio  first  ye;ir  wiliiout  ploughing. 
Afterwards  the  plough  becomes  Jiocrssary.  Turnips,  sweet  potatoes, 
pumpkins  and  melon-;  llouiisli  rouarlcaijly  on  the  virgin  soil.  It  is  a 
pleasant  spectach^,  to  sec  wilii  \\]:>\  bixuiiaiiee  liie  ;ip[>le  tree  advances, 


fc  ■* 


iT-r-, 


w  '. 


IMMir;  RATION. 


103 


►Soulli  of  n3o  llie  fig  tree  is  aiiljslilnltxl  for  llio  npplo  Ircc  If  the  lojr 
liiiildinijs  wore  made  of  frood  and  (Iiir;il>l>  imlcrinly,  (lify  icinaincomforl- 
jil'lc  dwellings  soven  or  ci^dit:  yc^irs.  IJy  lliis  lime  in  tlic  ordinary  prog- 
ress of  succcs.^'ful  farming,  tlio  t)\viior  replaces  them  hy  a  house  of  stone, 
l)rirk,or  framework;  and  Ihecjhjeet  is  to  have  the  second  house  asiarjtro, 
,'ind  showy,  as  the  fusf  was  rustic  and  rude.  A  vohime  of  details, 
touching  the  pniivross  of  such  cstahhshments,  might  he  added.  But 
(his  l)rief,  though  faithful  outline  of  commencing  cslablishmcnts  in  tho 
woods  aims  to  re<'.oril  an  order  of  things,  that  is  passing  away  under 
our  eyes,  and  which  will  noon  he  found  only  in  history. 

It  is  impossible  to  satisfy  the  inquiries,  that  are  constantly  making, 
pnrticuhrly  by  European  cmirrrants,  touching  the  exact  cost  of  these 
improvements,  and  tlie  requisite  provisions,  cattle  and  horses,  necessary 
for  a  conuTioiiccmcut.  All  those  things  vary,  not  only  according  to 
quality  as  elsewhere,  but  according  to  nearness  or  remoteness  from  set- 
tlements, according  to  the  abundance  or  scarceness  of  the  article;  in  fact, 
are  liable  to  greater  irregularities  of  price,  than  in  the  old  settlem'^nts. 
Labor  has  found  its  level,  and  costs  nearly  the  same  in  the  new,  as  in 
the  old  states.  The  average  expense  of  log  houses  may,  perhaps,  bo 
rated  at  iifty  dollars,  when  built  on  contract.  Clearing,  grubbing  and 
enclosing  timbered  land,  so  as  to  prepare  it  for  a  crop,  costs  from  six  to 
twelve  dollars  an  acre,  according  to  tho  heaviness  and  liardness  of  the 
timber,  aiul  the  ease  of  splitting  rails.  The  prairie  land  has  a  very  tough 
green  sward,  and  costs  three  dollars  an  acre  to  be  well  ploughed  the 
first  time.  Lands  under  good  improvement  are  generally  worth  from  six 
to  ten  dollars  an  acre ;  and  all  are  aware,  that  the  government  price  of 
wild  lands,  after  the  first  a^ijiion  sales,  is  one  dollar  and  twenty  five 
cents  an  sere. 

The  most  allbctionato  counsel,  wc  would  give  an  immigrant,  ailer  an 
acquaintance  with  all  districts  of  the  western  country  of  sixteen  years, 
and  after  liaving  seen,  and  felt  no  small  part  of  all,  we  have  attempted  to 
record,  would  be  to  regard  tho  salubrity  of  the  spot  selected,  as  a  consid- 
eration of  move  importance,  than  its  fertility,  or  vicinity  to  a  market;  to 
supply  himself  with  a  good  manual  of  domestic  medieijie,  if  such  a  man- 
ual is  to  be  found;  still  more,  to  obtain  simple  and  precise  notions  of  the 
more  obvious  aspects  of  disease,  an  acquisition  worth  a  hundred  times  its 
cost,  and  more  than  all  to  a  backwoodsman;  to  liavc  a  lancet,  and  suffi- 
cient experience  and  firmness  of  hand  to  open  a  vein;  to  have  a  small, 
but  well  labelled  and  well  supplied  medicine  chest;  aud  to  be,  after  all, 
very  cautious  about  either  taking,  or  administering  its  contents,  reserv- 
ing thoin  for  cmergeuties,  and  for  a  choice  of  evils;  to  depend  for  health 
on  temperance,  moderation  iu  all  ihui^'s,  u  cuieful  conformity  in  food  and 


4 


^         ' 


i  m 


i''i. 


..*, . 


\M 


MlflSISHIPl'I    VALl.IJV. 


% 


dress  to  circumsfnucos  niul  lie  cliiimfr;  aii'l  .ihovo  all.  Id  tiiin  ohscrvc  » 
ri^'id  and  uiidcviiitini;  a!)sliit(>ti<'<>  Irdiii  lliat  loatliHoiiiu  and  iiiurdiTiMH 
\vc'st(<rii  |H)ison,  wliiskey,  wliicli  tuny  lu;  |)rt>ii()iiiirod  tlu;  provulciit.  iniasin 
of  (ho  country.  Lot  every  inini;,'iaiit  Icain  tlio  mystery,  and  proviiJo  the 
materials  tu  make  good  beer.  F^et  (!very  itniiii;j[rant  diirin<r  the  season  of 
ucclimatiun,  csjwcially  the  stdlry  months,  tal<«'  medieine  hy  way  of  pre. 
vcntion,  twice  or  thriee,  with  al)sliiienc(>  from  liilMtr  a  day  or  two  after- 
wards. Let  him  have  a  I^ihle  for  a  <;onHlant  counsellor  and  a  few  good 
books  for  ini<lrnclion  and  annisenient.  Let  hitn  hav(!  tlu;  dignity  and 
good  sense  to  train  his  family  reli<^Monsly;  and  not  to  !)e  blown  about  by 
every  wind  of  doctrine  in  religion,  politics  or  opinions.  Let  his  rifle 
rust,  and  let  thegnme,  unless  it  come  in  his  way,  live  on.  Letliim  cul- 
tivate a  garden  of  choice  fruit,  as  well  as  a  fnu;  orchard.  L(!l  him  keep 
bees;  for  their  managinnent  unites  ple,;sure  and  profit.  Let  him  pre- 
pare for  silk  making  on  a  smtill  and  gradual  scale.  Let  him  cultivate 
grai)es  by  way  of  experiment.  Let  him  banish  unreal  wants;  and  learn 
the  master  secret  of  .self  possession,  and  Im;  content  with  such  things,  as 
lie  has;  aware  that  every  position  in  lilb  has  advantages  and  trials.  Let 
him  assure  himself  that  if  an  independent  farmer  caimot  be  happy  no  man 
can.  Let  him  magnify  his  calling,  resi)ect  himself,  envy  no  one,  and  raise 
to  the  Author  of  all  good  constant  arpirations  of  thank fidness,  as  ho 
uuta  the  bread  of  i)oaco  and  privacy. 


•»/' 


4 


■#.-•        *■ 


^i«. 


'  ♦# 


i 


m 


TLORIUA. 


!:./ 


Lknctii  nno  miioa.  M»'aiil)n>;ulili  liiO  ruilc?.  nrtwoon  2r»aml  31"N. 
laliludc,  niul  NO  nnd  \V2'^  W.  lnii-.i(ii(It'  IVoiii  FiOndoii.  Uiulor  its  former 
owners,  it  was  st'iniralcd  into  two  ijolilicid  jlivisions,  whoso  {^'eofrrnplncal 
limits  were  stroii<i;ly  maikcd  l»y  niiimo;  lo  wit,  HiiHt  ami  West  Florida, 
At  the  southern  extent  of  lOast  J''loii(l;i,  ihciv  is  a  loii;,'  and  narrow  penin- 
sula, runninff  a  i,'rt'at  distance  into  Ihi'  soa,  and  niarkinj^  Hie  eastern 
boundary  of  fhe  jjulf  of  IMcxiro.  It  extends  northwardly  lo  Alabama  and 
Georgia,  east  to  Ccor*,Ma,  south  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico;  and  west  to 
the  river  Appalachicohi,  between  SO  and  S5"  W.  lonj^itmlc  from  London, 
and  25  and  31°  N.  latitude.  West  Florida  extends  from  the  limits  of 
East  Florida,  with  the  same  norihein  boundaries  to  the  river  Perdido, 
which  divides  it  on  the  west  from  Al:ib:inia. — This  division  has  ceased 
to  exist,  and  the  two  Floridas  constitute  one  <Tovornmcnt.  By  the  treaty 
of  cession  from  Spain,  it  has  become  an  integral  |)art  of  the  American 
republic,  and  will,  soon  have  a  suflicient  population  to  claim  admission 
into  the  union  of  the  states. 

Climate.  This  may  be  considered  in  some  respects  a  tropical  climate. 
The  northern  belt,  indeed,  which  lies  along  the  southern  limits  of  Georgia 
and  Alabama,  partakes  of  the  cooler  temperature  of  those  states,  and 
seems  to  be  beyond  the  range  of  the  jMoixir  cultivation  of  the  Otahcite  and 
African  sugar  cane.  The  ribband  cane  will,  probably,  flourish  in  thia 
division.  The  regular  range  of  the  thermometer  throughout  the  Floridas, 
from  June  to  the  autumnal  equinox,  is  between  Fl  and  88°  Fahrenheit. 
It  sometimes  rises  above  100°;  but  fills  range  occurs  as  seldom,  as  in 
the  adjoining  states.  The  mercury,  probably,  ranges  lower  through  the 
summer,  than  in  the  interior  of  Alabama  and  Georgia.  Even  in  winter, 
the  influence  of  the  unclouded  and  vertical  sim  is  always  uncomfortable. 
In  the  peninsular  parts,  there  are  sometimes  slight  frosts,  but  water  never 
freezes.  The  most  delicate  orange  trees  bear  fruit  in  full  perfection,  and 
the  fruit  is  remarkably  delicious.  There  is  generally  a  sky  of  mild 
azure,  southern  breezes,  and  an  air  of  great  purity.    But  the  evening  air 


H.  %i 


# 


w 


100 


Fhoniiiv, 


•**■ 


is  pjirlicularly  humid,  niul  iIip  ilowrf  (  xccyyivcv    Jvirly  in  winter  tlio  rnlny 
Hcason  coinrncncrH.     In  Filiriitiry  iind  IM.-iicli,  (Ihtc  an;  lliiiiidcr  HtonuH 
by  night,  followed  hy  cjcir  mid  lu'ruififid  <ljiyH.     In  Juno,  llic  snllry  Hfa- 
Bon  conninenccH,  nnd  Icnniimles  wilii  llio  aniinnnni  c<|uin()X.     Hut,  fakfj 
the  cliiniit(5  0 If <);,'<•  tln'r,  llicrc  is  not,  |m  rliiijis.  on  tlie  j,dolHMi  ujoro  d(.'li;,'lit- 
ful  one,  between  tlu;  months  of  (htoher  and   June.     'J'jio  peninsular 
parts,  being  near  the  tropics,  have  a  hi;,'Iicr  ((.iiipciature,  than  West  Florida, 
which  is  occaHionally  faiuied  by  Canadian  breezes,  that  sweep  theMissia- 
fiippi  valley. — Tho  ]M,ninsula  i.s  subject  to  torni'does,  like  the  West  In- 
dies.    On  the  Atlantic  side  of  Florida,  the  eastern,  mid  in  West  Florida 
the  western  trade  winds  prevail.     Hut  in  AVest  Florida,  after  severe  thun- 
der storms,  northern  breezes  alternate  tlirou{,'h  the  summer.     About  the 
time  of  the  autumnal  e(iuinox,  liurricancs  and  destructive  gales  some- 
times occur.     In  the  nortiiern  jiarts  the  inlhienee  of  tiiu  cold  breezes 
from   tho  northern   refjidiis,  wliicli  are  covered  with  snow,  are  sensibly 
felt;  nnd  then  ice  fuiiiis  on  the  nortlitrn  exposures  of  buildings.     There 
arc,  in  particular  season.^,  indications  of  considcrahlo  liuniidily  over  all  the 
country.    Though  tiiere  arc  never  heats  nnd  liuniidily  to  cause  .s'lii^ar  and 
gait  to  melt,  as  some  writers  have  asserted.     Perhaps  there  is  no  point  in 
tlio  Floridas,  where  humidity  is  moreinaiiifes!,  than  about  St.  Augustine; 
yet  in  Spanish  times,  the  citizens  of  llavanna  used  to  resort  there,  dur- 
ing the  sickly  months  for  health,  as  a  kind  of  Aloiilpelier,  and  jierhaps  no 
southern  place  at  present  is  foumi  more  c(;n;.'enlal  to  the  const itiition  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States.     The  same  siiddeii  variations  of  tempe- 
rature are  felt  here,  especially  in  the  winter,  that  constitute  so  distinct  a 
feature  in  the  climate  of  all  the  south-western  parts  of  the  Uiiited  States. 
The  thermometer  sometimes  ranges  '.H)°  in  a  single  winter  day. — North- 
ern people  would  never  conceive,  except  by   inspection,  how  long  fires 
are  comfortable,  and  how  great  a  portion  of  the  year  re(]uires  them,  in  a 
climate,  where  rivers  never  skim  with  ice.     From  June  to  October,  the 
frequent  rains,  and  the  unremitting  heat  arc  apt  to  generate  the  fevers  of 
southern  climates,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  ponds  and  marshes.  Where 
fields  are  flooded  for  rice,  and  indigo  plantations  arc  made,  it  is  invaria- 
bly sickly.    On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  safely  asserted,  that  the  dis- 
tricts of  Florida,  remote  from  marshes,  swamps,  and  stagnant  waters,  arc 
healthy.    The  ever  verdant  pine  forests  cover  a  great  extent  of  this 
country,  and  these  in  the  mind  of  an  inhabitant,  of  the  south  arc  ever  ss- 
sociated  with  the  idea  of  health.    At  least  two  thirds  of  this  country  arc 
covered  with  this  timber. 

Productions.  The  vegetable  kingdom  in  Florida  has  a  greater  variety 
than  any  other  part  of  the  United  States.  In  the  comparatively  richer  soils, 
in  the  hammock  lands,  on  the  river  courses,  and  the  richer  swaraps  notli- 


ri,ouii>\. 


11)7 


inp  can  oxccctl  llio  liixiiriniirn  niiil  «»nii<I<'iir  of  tin-  t<Iirul)H  ond  trrr^. 
Tlio  pinefurust  is  jili,i«)Ht  Ixnnitllry-i  ;>mi|  iiicslmi    iil»|c;  atnl  tlie  pinrs  mo 
of  aiiextrnordinary  lici^lit  (iiid  IxmiiIv. — Wliat  iscillcil  \vliil(»  (cdar  ami 
cyi)rosH,alK)iiii(l  in  tlir  vast  Hwaiiip-:,  iirid  this  limhcr  ;,'ri>\vs  of  jrn;atHi/.o 
Live  oaks  aro  frciiiu'iit,  and  llic  Ik  c  dtvcl(i|i(s  iLscll'ln-H!  in  fidl  pcrfr'ction. 
Our  government  coininiMiccd  ii  pl.intation  of  this  invaluable  species  of 
trco  at  Deer  Point,  in  wliicli,  in  the  y.-ar  iS'JiJ,  upwurds  of  70,000  wcro 
growing  in  a  flourisliing  condition.     'I'lie  secretary  of  the  navy  proposed 
to  abandon  tlio  ctdtivation,  tliinkin;r  that  ilie  country  couhl  never  want 
live  oak,  when  it  is  indi<.'enous  (Vom  Si.  Marys  lo  the  Sahine.     IJnt  there 
is  reason  to  believe,  that  the  amount  of  livi;  oak  in  Florida  and  Louisiana 
has  been   much  overrated.     ENpcricncc  has  proved,  that  they  are  easily 
cultivated.     Groves  of  these  majestic  trees  ure  ofini  seen  in  diilerent 
parts  of  Florida,  open,   and  arraujL'ed    in  regular  lorms  surp;issiii<,'  tho 
Ixjauty  of  the  famous  [)arks  of  llu;  EuLdish  mansions;  probably  tho  [>lan- 
tations  of  a  former  generation,   of    whoso   civilization   and  taste  these 
trees  arc  noble  memorials.  A  la ri^c,  detached  live  oak,  seen  at  a  distance 
on  the  verge  of  a  savainia,  or  on  the  shore  of  u  river,  spreading  like  an 
immense  umbrella,  its  head  of  such  perfect  verdure,  and  so  beautifully 
rounded,  is  a  splendid  object  on  the  landscape.  The  cabbage  palm  cho'Tna- 
rops  palmetto,  is  common.     This  superb  trot;  sometimes  raises  a  clear 
shaft  eighty  feet  high.     The  limber  resists  tho  gulf  worm.     Hats,  baskets 
and  mats  are  manufactured  from  the  leaves.     The  young  head  at  tiie 
stem  is  edible  and  nutritive.     Wild  animals  feed  on  the  berries.     It  is 
not  seen  west  of  St.  Andrews  B  ly.     'J'iiu  de;^p  swarnjjs  present  the  cus- 
tomary sjiectacleof  innumerablo  cypress  columns,  rising  from  immense 
buttresses,  with  interlaced  arms,  at  their  summit,  showing  the  aspect  of  a 
canopy  of  verdure  reared  upon  j)illars.     On  tho  hammock  lands,  the 
beautiful  dog  wood  trees  si)rcnd  their  horizontal  branches,  and  interweav- 
ing them  with  each  other,  form  a  fine  deep  shade,  wJiicIi   completely 
excludes  the  sun,  and  suppresses  the  growth  of  all  kinds  of  r- vetation 
under  them;  presenting  in  some  places,  for  miles  *f>'     her  a  smooth 
shaven  lawn,  and  an  impervious  sliade.     Here  is  the  beautiful  pawpaw, 
with  a  stem  perfectly  straight,  smooth  and  silver  colored,  and  with  a 
conical  top  of  splendid  foliage  always  green,  and  fruit  of  the  richest  ap- 
pearance.    Titi  is  a  shrub  filling  the  southern  swamps,  as  the  elder  does 
at  the  north.     It  flowers  in  masses  of  white  ornamental  blossoms,  and 
singular  strings  of  covered  seeds,  that  hang  on  the  bushes  till  winter. 
Five  or  six  species  of  pine  arc  found  here.     Tho  southern  extremity  of 
the  peninsula  of  Florida  is  very  rocky.     Instead  of  the  trees  and  shrubs, 
which  are  found  in  the  rest  of  the  country,  it  is  covered  with  Mastic, 
lignumvitx,  gum  clcmy,  ovino,  wild  fig  and  mangrove. 


ill.. 


t'i  ^1  il 


* 


3&- 


198 


FLOIIIDA. 


«■ 


There  arc  many  1  races  of  luiiUMl  i!)vveis,  iU;solalc(l  Indian  villages, 

indications  of  former  Ii.ihilancy,  and  inucli  more  cidtivafion,  than  is  now 

seen  in  the  conntvy.     Wherever  these  traces  of  former  popnlalion  are 

observed  are  those  ;n;roves  of  lime,  orange,  peach  and  fi<f  trees,  that  are 

spoken  of  I  ■  travellers,  as  havinjf  been  fuuiid  here  indigejious  to  the  soil. 

Wild  grape  vines  abound.     Myr'ica  odorata,  or  candle  berry  laurel  is 

common.     From  the  berries  of  lliis  shrub  is  prepared  an  excellent  kind 

of  wax  for  candles.     It  is  not  unlike  the  buy  beny  of  the  north,  except 

that  the  shrub  is  taller,  and  the  berries  lander.     Among  the  flowers  is  the 

ma^jnificent  Hyhisciis,  which,  though  an  herbaceous  and  annual  plant, 

grows  to  the  height  of  ten  feet,  branching  regularly  in  the  form  of  a  sharp 

cone,  and  is  covered  with  large,  expanded  and  crimson  flowers,  which 

unfold  in  succession  during  all  tlic  summer  months.     Tillandsia  usnco- 

ides,  \oxiQ  moss,  or  Spanish  ber-id  is  conmion  here,  and  has  the  same 

appearance  as  will  be  hereafter  described  in  liouisiana.     It  hangs  down 

in  festoons,  sometimes  ton  or  fifteen  feel  in  length,  like  the  pendent  sterna 

of  the  weeping  willow.     Waved  by  the  wind,  it  catches  from  branch  to 

branch,  and  sometimes  fills  tiie  interval  between  the  trees,  as  a  curtain. 

It  has  a  long  trumpet  shaped  llowcr,  and  seeds  so  fine,  as  to  be  hardly 

visible.    These  seeds  undonbtcdly  fix  in  the  bark  of  the  trees;  and  this 

parasitic  plant  there  finds  its  appropriate  soil.     It  will  not  grow  on  a 

dead  tree.     Cattle,  deer  and  horses  feed  on  it,  while  it  is  fresh.     WHicn 

properly  rotted,  and  prepared,  which  is  doiu;  much  after  the  manner,  in 

which  hemp  is  prepared,  it  is  an  admirable  article  for  mattresses,  and 

stufiing  for  cushions,  saddles,  coach  scats,  and  the  like.     The  fibre  when 

properly  prepared,  is  ekistic  and  incorruptible,  and  in  many  respects 

resembles  horse  liair,  both  in  appearance  and  use.    The  Spanish  and 

natives  use  it  for  horse  collars,  coarse  harnessing  and  ropes. 

The  low  savannas  are  covered,  like  the  prairies  of  the  upper  country, 
with  a  prodigious  growth  of  grass  and  flowers.  In  the  swamps,  the  cane 
brakes  are  of  great  height  and  thickness,  and  the  rushes,  and  other 
meadow  plants  grow  to  an  uncommon  size.  Some  of  the  reed  canes  are 
seen  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  in  height.  The  lakes  and  creeping  bayous, 
especially  in  summer,  are  covered  with  a  most  curious  growth  of  aquatic 
plants,  called  by  botanists,  instia  stratiotcs.  They  somewhat  resemble 
the  vegetable,  commonly  called  house  leek,  and  have  a  beautiful  elliptical 
leaf.  It  is  commonly,  but  not  correctly  reported  to  vegetate  on  the 
surface  of  the  water.  When  the  roots  of  thousands  of  these  plants  have 
twined  together,  so  as  to  form  a  large  and  compact  surface,  the  mass  is 
often  drifted  by  the  wind,  or  current,  to  a  considerable  distance.  Tiiis 
is  the  appearance,  no  doubt,  which  has  given  origin  tu  llie  ^tory  of  lloalijig 
islands  in  the  waters  of  this  country.     Thib  singular  and  beautiful 


M. 


vat- 


ILOUIDA. 


199 


vegetation,  spreads  a  vordant  plain  over  llio  wntors,  Cox  fi  i^roat  extent. — 
Under  it  tJic  fishes  dart,  and  llic  alliirntors  pursnc  tJieir  nnwieldy  gambols, 
and  mulliludes  of  water  fowls  arc  seen  iKitteriny  tlicir  bills  anion"  the 
leaves.  The  herbarium,  though  exceedingly  rich,  and  diversified,  is  not 
materially  dilferent  from  that,  to  bo  described  hereafter. 

The  cultivated  vegetables  arc  maize,  beans,  potatoes,  especially  sweet 
potatoes,  it  being  an  admirable  country  for  that  fine  vegetable,  pumpkins, 
melons,  rice,  and  a  variety  of  cscidcnt  roots,  particularly  a  species  of 
arum,  which  is  much  cultivated  in  liio  mnritimc  parts,  and  has  a  large 
turnip  shajxid  root,  resembling,  when  roasted,  or  boiled,  a  yam  in  taste. 
The  pistache  is  a  kind  of  nut  in  pods,  growing  in  the  ground,  abund- 
antly in  sandy  land,  much  cultivated  botli  by  the  Scminoles  and  Ameri- 
cans. It  is  baked  or  roasted  in  the  shell,  and  is  used  by  confectioners, 
as  a  sweet  meat. 

Tobacco,  cotton,  indigo,  rice  and  the  sugar  cane  will  be  the  principal 
articles  of  culture.  The  African  and  Otaheilc  cane  flourish  remarkably 
well  in  the  southern  parts,  on  tlio  hammock  and  rich  lands,  and  planters 
arc  beginning  to  turn  their  attention  very  much  to  tlic  cultivation  of  this 
article.  The  coflcc  tree  has  been  tried  on  the  peninsula;  and  colfeo  can 
unquestionably  be  raised  there;  but  whether  of  a  kind,  or  in  quantities 
to  justify  cultivation,  has  not  yet  been  sufiicicnlly  experimented.  The 
olive  has  been  suflicicntly  tried  to  piovc,  that  it  flourishes,  and  bears 
well.  A  species  of  Cactus  is  common,  on  which  the  Cochineal  fly  feeds; 
and  this  will  probably  become  an  important  article  of  manufacture.  A 
species  of  cabinet  wood  of  great  beauty  grows  here,  which  they  call 
bastard  mahogany.     It  is  proljably  the  Lauri/s  Borhonla. 

Minerals.  Tlic  country  is  not  ricli  in  this  department,  although  it  is 
allirmed,  that  several  kinds  of  i)recious  stones  have  been  found  here,  as 
amethysts,  tunjuoiscs,  and  lapis  lazuli.  Ocln'cs  of  diilerent  colors,  pit 
coal  and  iron  ore  arc  abundant.  We  have  seen  beautiful  aggregations 
of  little  circular  nodules  of  marine  petrifactions,  and  si)lendid  specimens 
of  coral  and  marine  shells  found  on  the  shores  of  the  gulf.  On  Musquito 
river,  ihero  is  a  warm  mineral  si)riiig,  iiuuring  out  like  many  other  s[)ring.s 
of  the  country,  a  vast  volume  of  water  suHiciently  largo  to  fill  a  basin, 
in  which  largo  boats  may  float.  The  water  is'sulphuroous,  and  is  esteemed 
eliicacious  in  rheumatic,  and  other  ulleclions.  It  is  remarkably  pellucid, 
and  filled  with-tirlics. 

Aiiiinuh.  There  arc  prairie  and  common  wolves,  wild  cats,  panthers, 
ib.xes,  rabbits,  many  boamii'ul  kuuts  o\'  btjicirrel.-!,  raccoons,  Mexican 
oppossuins  and  wuudcluickri.  The  cuniiuuji  Ijiowu  bear  is  yet  seen  in 
ilie  swaiiipi  It  1;?  a  liuij  giiiziiii;  eoUiiiiy,  .uuryrat;.^  abuunds  in  the  o|)en 
piuo  woods  uiiJ  iiavaunu^',  and  (in:  o\^aiupo  furnibli  iinjAljdUatiblc  supplies) 


•   '=i 


,  ii 


200 


FLORIDA. 


%' 


'^ 


of  winter  range.  ■  Thus  it  is  an  admirable  country  for  raising  stock.  The 
rearing  of  cattle  and  horses,  in  times  past,  has  been  the  chief  employ- 
ment of  the  small  planters.  They  number  their  cattle  by  hundreds,  and 
sometimes  by  thousands  TJicrc  are  immense  droves  of  deer,  and  this 
is  the  paradise  of  hunters,  though  in  many  places  the  Indians  complain 
of  the  scarcity  of  game.  Wolves  sometimes  assemble  in  great  numbers, 
and  when  united  or  single,  are  ahv;iys  formidable  enemies  to  the  folds 
and  vacheries  of  the  planters.  Boars  have  been  killed  here  of  six 
hundred  pounds  weight.  The  inhabitants  esteem  their  flesh  a  great 
luxury. 

Birds.  The  ornithology  of  Florida  is  probably  the  richest  in  North 
America.  There  arc  here  immense  numbers  and  varieties  of  water 
fowls,  especially  during  tlic  winter,  and  intlie  sleeping  inlets  on  the  shores 
of  tlie  gulf,  on  the  bayous  and  creeks.  In  the  woods  and  stationary  through 
the  winter  arc  vultures,  liav.ks,  rooks,  jays,  parroquets,  woodpeckers, 
pigeons,  turkeys,  herons,  cranes,  curlews,  cormorants,  pelicans,  plovers, 
blue  birds,  mocking  birds,  red  birds,  and  a  great  variety  of  the  sparrow 
tribe.  The  dog  wood  groves  are  tlic  resort  of  vast  numbers  af  the  small 
and  singing  birds.  Among  the  remarkable  birds,  are  the  snake  birds,  a 
species  of  cormorant  of  great  beauty. 

The  robin  red  breast  stays  the  wliole  year  in  Florida.  The  red  spar- 
row is  a  beautiful  variety  of  the  species  found  here.  The  crane,  grus 
Pratensisy  is  found  Jiere  in  immens>3  numbers.  By  some  their  flesh  is 
valued  as  mucli  as  that  of  the  turkey.  The  crying  bird  is  a  pelican, 
remarkable  for  singular  plumage,  and  its  harsh  cry.  The  wood  pelican 
is  nearly  three  feet  high,  and  is  seen  stalking  along  the  marshes,  with  his 
long,  crooked  beak,  resting,  like  a  scythe,  upon  his  breast.  The  painted 
vulture  is  one  of  the  curious  birds  seen  on  the  Savannas,  gorging  on  the 
serpents,  frogs  and  lizzards  roasted  by  the  periodical  burning  of  the  grass 
plains.  The  great  Savanna  crane,  when  standing  erect,  is  nearly  five 
feet  high.  They  fly  in  squadrons,  and  have  a  singular  uniformity  of 
'flying,  and  alighting.  A  striking  feature  of  this  country  is  the  number, 
variety  and  splendor  of  the  birds,  especially  those  of  the  aquatic  species. 

Fish.  The  coasts,  sounds  and  inlets  abound  in  excellent  fish;  and 
the  inland  lakes  and  rivers  are  stored  with  such  multitudes  of  them,  as 
can  not  be  adequately  conceived,  except  by  those,  who  have  seen  them. 
They  are  gcuerally  of  the  same  kinds,  tliat  we  have  named  under  this 
head,  in  our  previous  remarks  upon  the  Mississippi  Valley. 

We  may  observe  in  general,  that  the  fish  of  this  region,  especially  on 
the  sea  coast,  arc  fine.  The  fish,  liere  called  the  sun-fish,  is  the  same 
with  the  trout  of  Louisiana.  It  is  an  excellent  fisii,  and  no  angling  can 
exceed  it.  It  takes  the  bait  with  a  spring.  What  is  a  matter  of  curiosity. 


n 


■;  I 


FLORIDA. 


201 


to  all  the  recent  settlers  in  the  country,  is  the  multitudes  of  fish,  that  are 
seen  at  the  mouths  of  the  immense  springs,  that  burst  forth  from  the 
ground,  of  a  size  at  once  to  form  considerable  rivers.     When  the  channel 
of  these  subterranean  streams  is  struck,  by  perforating  the  earth  at  any 
distance  from  the  fountain,  the  hook,  thrown  in  at  the  perforation,  is 
eagerly  taken  by  tlie  fish,  and  fine  angling  may  be  had,  as  if  fishing  in  a 
well.    The  most  common  kinds  are  the  sun  fish,  cat  fish,  silver,  or  white 
bream,  and  the  black,  or  blue  bream,  stingray,  scale  flounders,  spotted 
bass,  sheep's  head,  drum,  shad,  ifcc.     Oysters,  and  other  shell  fish  are 
excellent  and  abundant.     Alligators  and  alligator  gars  are  the  common 
enemies  of  the  finny  tribes,  and  tliey  here  feed,  and  fatten  on  the  fish. — 
The  swamps,  lakes  and  inlets  so  abundantly  stored  with  fish,  frogs, 
insects,  and  every  kind  of  small  animals,  that  constitute  the  natural  food 
of  alligators,  would  lead  us  to  expect,  to  find  this  animal  in  great  num- 
bers.   There  are  all  the  varieties  of  lizzards,  that  we  have  enumerated, 
as  belonging  to  the  western  country  in  general.     The  lakes  and  rivers 
abound  in  tortoises.     The  great,  soft  shelled  fresh  water  tortoise,  when 
of  a  large  size,  has  been  found  weighing  fifty  pounds,  and  is  esteemed  by 
epicures,  delicious  food.     The  gopher  is  a  curious  kind  of  land  tortoise, 
and  is  by  many  prized  for  the  table.  There  are  vast  numbers  and  varieties 
of -frogs,  and  the  music  of  the  Rana  boans,  or  bull  frog  is  heard  in  con- 
cert with  the  cry  of  the  Spanish  whip-poor-will,  the  croaking  of  tortoises, 
and  the  innumerable  pecpings  and  gruntings  of  the  amphibious  animals 
and  reptiles  of  the  lakes  and  marshes. 

Serpents.  They  are  for  the  mcst  part  the  same  as  have  been  described 
already  under  this  head.  Here  is  seen  the  ribband  snake,  of  a  clear 
vermilion  color,  variegated  with  transverse  zones  of  dark  brown.  It  is 
found  about  old  buildings  and  is  harmless.  Here,  also,  is  the  chicken 
snake,  swift,  slender,  long  and  harmless.  Its  prey  is  chickens. — The 
mud  asp  is  a  serpent,  that  lives  in  the  muddy  creeks,  of  a  livid  color, 
and  easily  mistaken  for  an  eel.  Persons  incautiously  wading  in  the  mud 
have  been  bitten,  and  the  bite  has  proved  mortal.  The  coach  whip  snake 
inhabits  the  pine  barrens.  It  exactly  resembles  a  coach  whip  with  a  black 
handle,  but  is  perfectly  harmless.  The  bull  snake  is  common  on  the 
savannas.  It  is  a  large,  fierce  and  venomous  looking  snake,  uttering, 
when  irritated,  a  loud  hissing  noise;  but  its  bite  is  harmless.  The  coach 
whip  snake  is  common.  It  is  an  animal  of  beautiful  colors,  six  feet  long, 
and  as  slender,  as  a  walking  stick. — Tiie  glass  snake,  which  \ve  have 
described  elsewhere,  is  seen  here.  Red  and  black  toads  are  common. 
The  house  frog  indicates  rain,  by  being  uncommonly  noisy,  before  it 
happens.  The  little  green  garden  frog  changes  color,  like  the  camelion; 
and  its  note  exactly  imitates  the  barking  of  a  puppy.    Indeed  so  great  is 

26 


.  mi 


S02 


FLOUIDA. 


tlio  number  and  varicly  of  llicsc  reptiles,  that  it  is  the  standing  jest,  when 
speaking  of  riorida,  to  stiy,  that  every  acre  will  yield  forty  bushels  of 
frogs,  and  alligators  enough  to  fence  it. 

Insects.  Incredible  numbers  of  tlie  small  insects,  called  epliemerae, 
cover  the  surfaces  of  the  lakes  and  rivers,  supplying  abundant  food  for 
the  birds,  frogs,  and  fishes.  Clouds  of  the  gaudiest  butterflies  hover 
among  the  shrubs  and  flowers.  Gnats  and  musquitos,  as  might  be 
■expected  in  such  a  country,  are  extremely  frequent  and  annoying,  especi- 
ally about  the  rice  and  indigo  plantations,  being  ordinarily  found  in 
greatest  numbers,  where  it  is  most  unliealthy.  On  the  open,  dry  savannas 
they  are  neither  so  frequent,  nor  troublesome,-  and  tliey  decrease  in  num- 
bers, as  cultivation  advances.  The  jigger,  red  bug  and  musquito  are 
•most  annoying. 

Bays,  Inlets  and  Sounds.  From  the  uncommon  levelness  of  the 
country  on  the  sea  shore,  and  from  the  numerous  rivers,  that  intersect  it, 
there  is  no  part  of  the  world,  that  for  tlie  same  extent  has  so  many  inlets, 
sounds,  narrow  passes  of  water  between  islands,  and  communications 
of  one  point  of  the  shore  with  anotlicr,  by  an  inland  channel.  The  whole 
coast  is  almost  a  continued  line  of  these  sounds;  and  it  is  beyond  a 
doubt,  that  at  a  comparatively  small  expense,  a  canal  communicating  with 
the  sea,  in  an  hundred  places,  might  be  made  from  New  Orleans  t«  the 
river  St.  Marys.  From  this  river  to  the  Sabine,  and  we  may  add,  through 
Texas,  almost  every  river,  that  enters  the  gulf  just  before  its  entrance, 
spreads  into  a  broad  lake,  communicaling  with  the  sea,  and  the  water  is 
.partially  salt.  From  one  of  tliesc  lakes  to  another,  there  is  often  a  wide 
natural  canal,  with  from  four  to  six  feet  water.  Tliose  on  the  shores  of 
Florida  are  too  numerous  to  mention  with  particularity.  Perdido  bay,  divi- 
ding Alabama  fiom  Florida,  is  thirty  miles  long,  and  from  two  to  six  broad. 
Pensacola  bay  is  thirty  miles  long,  and  from  four  to  seven  wide.  It  receives 
the  rivers  Escambia,  Yellow,  Cold  water.  Black  water,  and  Cedar  creek. 
The  bay  of  Pensacola  affords  the  best  harbor  on  the  whole  gulf  shore. 
Bayou  Texas  enters  from  the  north,  a  mile  above  Pensacola,  and  is  four 
miles  long,  and  a  fourth  of  a  mile  wide.  Bayou  Mulatto  enters  the  east  side 
of  Escambia  bay.  St.  Rosa  sound  connects  the  bays  of  Pensacola  and 
Chactawhatchee.  This  is  a  charming  slieet  of  water,  forty  miles  long, 
and  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  miles  wide.  A  narrow  peninsula  divides 
Pensacola  bay  from  this  sound,  for  thirty  miles.  It  yields  five  feet  water 
in  its  whole  length.  Cliactawhatchcc  bay  is  forty  miles  long,  and  from 
seven  to  fifteen  wide.  It  receives  a  number  of  creeks,  is  much  affected 
by  storms,  and  was  formerly  the  seat  of  a  profitable  fishery.  St.  Andrews' 
bay  is  protected  by  a  number  of  small  islands,  receives  some  navigable 
creeks,  lias  deep  water,  is  twelve  miles  long,  and  five  miles  wide.    St. 


great 


K 


rLoniDAt 


203 


Joseph's  bay  is  twenty  miles  long,  and  seven  miles  wide.  Appalachicola 
is  twelve  miles  long,  and  from  four  to  six  miles  wide.  Ocklockney  is 
is  twelve  miles  long,  and  two  broad.  Appalachy  bay  is  a  circular  inden- 
tation, in  which  is  the  port  of  St.  Marks,  the  nearest  point  to  Tallapasseo 
the  seat  of  Government.  Histahalchce  oflers  a  safe  harbor  for  small 
vessels.    Vacassa  bay  is  the  eastern-most  bay  in  west  Florida. 

Rivers.  The  rivers,  that  have  courses  of  considerable  length  rise  in 
the  high  lands  of  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Mississippi.  St.  Marys  is  a 
very  considerable  stream,  that  falls  into  llic  Atlantic,  by  a  broad  mouth. 
It  is  for  a  long  way  the  separating  line  between  Florida  and  Georgia. 

St.  Johns,  a  very  considerable  river,  rises  in  the  centre  of  the  peninsula, 
and  flowing  with  a  gentle  current  nortliwardly,  broadens  to  a  wide  chan- 
nel, and  passes  through  several  lakes,  the  largest  of  which  is  St.  George, 
twenty  miles  long,  and  twelve  broad,  and  falls  into  the  sea  forty  miles 
sc  th  of  St.  George.     It  has  been  navigated  by  the  steam  boat  George 
Washington,  the  first  that  ever  floated  on  the  waters  of  Florida.     She 
took  the  inland  passage  from  Savannah,  and  arrived  at  Jacksonville  on 
tlie  St.  Johns  in  thirty  four  hours.   Indian  river  has  a  course  from  north 
to  south,  and  empties  into  the  gulf.     Most  of  the  rivers,  that  fall  into 
the  gulf,  have  their  sources  in  Georgia. — The  most  important  of  these  is 
Appalachicola,  which  divides  East  from  West  Florida.     It  is  formed  by 
the  junction  of  two  considerable  rivers,  that  rise  in  the  subsiding  Appal- 
achian ridges  in  Georgia,  tlic  Flint  and  the  Chattaliochy.  It  is  the  longest, 
largest  and  most  important  river  in  Florida,  and  falls  into  Appalachy  bay. 
The  small  river,  St.  Marks,  empties  into  the  same  bay.     Escambia  is  a 
considerable  river,  and  empties  info  Pensacola  bay.     Perdido,  which 
forms  the  boundary  between  Florida  and  Alabama,  falls  into  the  gulf 
four  leagues  west  of  Pensacola  bay.     There  are,  also,  the  Nassau,  St. 
Nicholas,  Ocklockney,  Corclia,  St.  Pedro,  Charlotte,  Hillsborough,  Su- 
waney,  Vilchees,  Conecuh,  Alaqua,  Chactawhatchec,  Econfina,  Oscilla, 
Acheenahatchce,  Chatahatchcc,  Ilrstaliatchcc,  and  various  others,  which 
rise  in  Florida,  and  at  dilTercnt  points  fall  into  the  gulf     There  are  a 
great  number  of  rivers,  not  here  enumerated,  tliat  rise  in  the  pine  forests, 
have  considerable  courses,  and  fall  into  arms  and  inlets  of  the  gulf.   The 
country  is  as  yet  scarcely  susceptible  of  accurate  topographical  informa- 
tion, and  is  so  intersected  with  rivers,  and  accommodated  with  inlets, 
and  the  soil  is  so  level,  and  the  communications  from  one  point  to  another 
by  water  so  easy  that  there  is  no  place  in  the  territory  at  any  considera- 
ble distance  from  water  communication.     The  enlranccs  to  most  of  the 
rivers  have  a  bar,  that  unfits  them  (or  the  navigation  of  vessels  drawing 
much  water.   Most  of  those  rivers  arc  su!>ceptiblc  of  considerable  extent 


hi 


204 


FLORIDA. 


of  schooner  navigation,  and  they  arc  generally  capable  of  steam  boat 
navigation. 

Inlands.  The  sea  islands  on  the  J'lorida  shore  arc  not  of  much  im- 
portance. St.  Rosa  island  is  a  long  and  narrow  slip  parallel  to  the  coast, 
between  St,  Rosa  bay  and  Pcnsacola,  The  Tortugas  are  a  group  of 
islands,  opposite  the  soulhern-moHt  point  of  East  Florida.  They  are 
covered  witli  Mangrove  buslics,  and  extend  from  north-east  to  south-west. 
Anastatia  is  opposite  lo  St.  Augustine,  and  divided  from  the  main  land 
by  a  narrow  channel,  and  is  twcaly-fivc  miles  in  length.  They  arc  covered 
with  pine  trees  and  sand  banks,  and  have  a  sterile  soil.  On  the  West 
Florida  shore  are  Ilummoch,  Crooked,  St.  Vincent's,  St.  George's,  Dog, 
and  James'  islands. 

Curiosities.  Tlicse  consist  in  a  great  many  natural  caverns,  sinking 
rivers,  great  springs  and  natural  bridges.  Among  the  caverns,  the  most 
remarkable  are  Arch  Cave,  and  Ladies  Cave.  The  hrst  descends 
under  a  vast  lime  stone  rock.  At  a  considerable  depth  in  the  earth,  a 
cavern  opens,  one  hundred  feet  wide,  and  fifty  feet  high.  From  this 
leads  off  a  kind  of  gothic  arcli  for  a  long  distance,  at  the  end  of  which 
is  a  running  stream  twenty  feet  wide,  and  five  feet  deep.  Beyond  this 
is  a  hall  one  hundred  feet  long,  with  columns  and  stalactites.  This  cave 
has  been  explored  four  hundred  yards.  It  abounds  in  sparry  crystalliza- 
tions. The  Ladies  Cave  is  still  more  spacious.  Tiiis,  too,  has  its  galle- 
ries, chambers,  domes,  sparry  columns,  and  its  cold  and  deep  river 
winding  through  its  dark  passages.  Two  miles  from  this  cave  is  the 
natural  bridge  over  Chapola  river.  The  Econfina  river  passes  under  a 
natural  bridge.  The  antiquities  of  West  Florida,  as  great  roads,  cause- 
ways, forts  and  other  indications  of  former  habitancy,  are  striking  and 
inexplicable  curiosities.  None  arc  more  so,  tlian  the  regular  and  noble 
plantations  and  avenues  of  live  oaks. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Tallahassee  a  small  pond  was  recently  formed  by 
the  sinking  of  the  earth,  which  fell,  with  all  its  trees,  with  a  tremendous 
crash.  The  sink  is  perpendicular,  and  fifty  feet  deep  before  we  arrive  at 
the  water,  the  depth  of  which  is  not  ascertained. 

Fountains,  Lakes  and  Spi'ings.  There  seems  to  bo  over  all  this 
country,  a  substratum  of  soft  stones  at  equal  depths,  which  is  cavernous, 
and  admits  numberless  subterranean  brooks  and  streams  to  have  their 
courses  far  under  the  ground.  In  places  they  burst  out  in  the  form  of 
those  vast  boiling  springs,  which  form  rivers  at  a  short  diritance  from 
their  outlets,  and  by  their  frequency,  their  singular  fornl^^,  the  transpa- 
rency of  their  waters,  and  the  multitude  of  their  fishes,  constitute  one  of 
the  most  striking  curiosities  of  the  countrv.    Among  an  hundred,  which 


Its 


FLOUIDA. 


205 


I 


might  be  named,  and  wiiich  liavc  crcaled  the  vulvar  impression,  lliat  there 
is  every  where  a  prodigious  cavern  beneath  the  surface  of  the  whole 
country,  the  most  remarkable  is  that,  twelve  miles  from  Tallahasse,  winch 
is  the  source  of  Wakulla  river. — It  is  of  a  size  (o  he  beatable  immediately 
below  the  fountain.     A  mile  below  its  source  the  channel  becomes  so 
impeded  with  flags,  rushes  and  river  wijcdy,  that  a  boat  can  scarcely  be 
propelled  through  tlicm.     Suddenly  this  iiiiniensc  spring  breaks  upon  the 
eye,  of  a  circular  form,  and  in  extent,  like  u  little  lake.     The  water  is 
almost  as  pellucid,  as  air.     It  has  been  sounded  with  a  line  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  fathoms,  before  bottom  was  found.     From  its  almost 
unfathomable  depth,  from  the  turial  transparency  of  its  waters,  and  per- 
haps also  from  the  admixture  of  sulpliuret  of  lime,  which  it  holds  in 
solution,  it  has  a  cerulean  tinge,  like  that,  which  every  voyager  has  ad- 
mired in  the  waters  of  the  gulf.     To  a  person  placed  in  a  skifl^,  in  the 
centre  of  this  splendid  fountain  basin,  the  appenvaucc  of  the  mild  azure 
vault  above  and  the  transparent  depth  below,  on  wliicii  the  floating  clouds 
and  the  blue  concave  above  are  painted,  and  repeated  with  an  indescriba- 
ble softness,  create  a  kind  of  pleasing  dizziness,  and  a  novel  train  of 
sensations,  among  which  the  most  distinguishable  is  a  feeling,  as  if  sus- 
pended between  two  firmaments.     The  imj)ression  only  ceases,  when  tlie 
boat  approaches  the  edge  of  the  basin  near  enough,  tc  enable  you  to 
perceive  the  outlines  of  the  neighboring  trees  pictured  on  tJie  margin  of 
tiie  basin.     It  has  been  assorted,  that  lime  stone  water  in  its  utmost 
purity  has  less  refractive  powers  for  light,  than  free  stone  water.     The 
water,  probably,  from  the  presence  of  the  suljjhuret  of  lime,  is  slightly 
nauseous  to  the  taste.     Beautiful  hammock  lands  rise  from  the  northern 
acclivity  of  this  basin.     It  was  the  site  of  the  Englisli  factory  in  former 
days.     Here  resided  the  famous  Ambrister.     The  force,  which  throws 
up  this  vast  mass  of  waters  from  its  subterranean  fountains,  may  bo 
imagined,  when  we  see  this  pellucid  water  swelling  up  from  the  depths, 
as  though  it  were  a  cauldron  of  boiling  water.     It  is  twelve  miles  from 
St.  Marks,  and  twenty  from  the  ocean.     Mickasucke  Lake,  fifteen  miles 
north-east  from  Tallahassee,  is  twelve  miles  long.     On  its  shores  many 
of  the  old  Indian  fields  are  covered  with  peach  trees.     Lake  Jackson, 
north-west  from  Tallahassee,  is  eight  miles  long,  and  three  broad.     The 
richest  lands  in  the  country  are  on  its  borders.     Lake  Itimony,  fourteen 
miles  north  of  Tallahasse,  is  eight  miles  long,  and  three  broad.     It  is 
noted  for  the  abundance  of  its  fish.  Old  Tallahasse  Lake  is  near  the  seat 
of  Government.   Chcfixico's  old  town  was  on  its  south  shore.   Inundation 
lake  is  newly  formed  by  the  inundation  of  tlie  Chapola.     Though  deep, 
the  forests  are  still  standing  in  it,  and  it  is  twenty  miles  long,  and  seven 
broad.  ^ 


200 


FLOniDA. 


The  Brig  Spring  of  CImpola  tlirowsout  a  considornblo  river  from  hctweeir 
the  liigh  rocks  on  its  .shores.  The  Clnpola  river  is  almost  wholly  form- 
ed from  largo  springs.  Tlic  T^ig  Spring  of  Chactawalchcc  is  the  chief 
source  of  that  river.  The  AVaucissa  spring  discharges  a  very  considera- 
ble stream. 

Savages.  The  Seminolcs  wore  once  a  numerous  and  powerful  tribe, 
as  were  also  the  Baton  Rouges,  or  Red  Sticks.  Their  numbers  were 
much  reduced  by  the  terrible  but  deserved  chastisement  which  they  re* 
ceived  during  tlic  late  war.  Numerous  small  tribes,  and  divisions  of 
tribes,  and  congregated  bodies  of  refugees  from  diflcrent  foreign  tribes 
are  dispersed  in  tlie  forests  and  savannas  of  this  country.  They  used  to 
find  in  the  spontaneous  production  of  the  soil,  and  in  the  abundance  of 
fish  and  game,  a  superfluity  of  subsistence. 

The  Indians  of  this  region  are  an  alert,  active  and  atliletic  people,  fond 
of  war,  of  gay,  volatile,  and  joyous  dispositions,  and  the  merriest  of  sav- 
ages. TJiey  have  the  common  propensity  for  intoxication  and  gambling. 
They  are  active  and  expert  hunters ;  and,  by  the  sale  of  bear,  deer,  pan- 
ther and  wolf  skins,  horses  and  cattle,  bees  wax,  honey,  venison  and 
such  articles  generally,  as  are  the  fruit  of  the  chase,  they  procure  their 
clothing,  and  such  things  as  are  called  for  by  their  habits  of  life. 

Civil  divisions.  Since  the  cession  of  this  country  to  the  United 
States,  the  imniigralion  to  the  country  has  been  very  considerable.  The 
country  has  been  divided  into  counties,  judicial  and  military  districts; 
and  all  tJie  benefits  of  American  institutions  are  peaceably  ditlused  over  its 
whole  surftvce.  The  present  number  of  inliabitants  in  both  I'^londas,  is 
34,725.  They  arc  as  thoroughly  mixed,  as  any  community  in  the  United 
States,  comprising  emigrants  from  all  foreign  countries,  and  from  every 
American  state;  and  among  the  Creoles,  there  are  all  possible  admixtures 
of  African  and  Indian  blood.  The  greater  proportion  of  the  inhabitants 
are  very  poor,  and  too  great  a  part  of  the  recent  immigrants  are  merely 
adventurers.  The  greater  number  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  lead  a  kind 
of  pastoral  life,  and  subsist  by  rearing  cattle.  A  few  of  the  planters  arc 
opulent,  and  have  good  houses  with  piazzas,  and  every  addition  that  can 
easily  be  devised  to  court  the  breeze.  They  live  a  solitary  life,  in  remote 
forests,  or  savannas.  But  abounding  in  fish,  cattle  and  game,  they  have 
all  the  necessaries  of  life  without  labor  or  difficulty;  and  the  unbounded 
hospitality  which  they  practise,  is  at  once  an  easy  and  delightful  virtue. 
Nothing  can  be  more  grateful  to  the  summer  traveller,  oppressed  with 
hunger,  thirst  and  heat,  and  wearied  with  the  sad  unifonnity  of  the  wide 
pine  forests,  and  savamias,  than  the  cordial  though  rude  welcome,  the 
patriarchal  simplicity,  the  frank  hospitality,  and  the  surrender  of  time, 
slaves,  and  every  thing  that  tlie  house  alfords,  to  his  comfort,  tiianlic  rc> 


FLORIDA* 


207 


ccivcs  hcio.  Some  [lortiyns  of  this  region  have  iiitnesl  with  tljc  thinking 
truvcller,  from  iinolher  circumstance.  Tlic  many  moundn,  that  are  me- 
inorinla  of  agea  ami  races  forever  lost  to  tradition  and  history,  aie  hero 
mixed  with  tlio  melancholy  ruins  of  consitlerable  villages,  that  rise  among 
the  orange  groves,  and  manifest,  that  there  was  once,  even  here,  a  nume- 
rous population  of  civilized  beings. 

The  amusements  of  tho  people  are  a  compound  of  Spanish,  French 
and  American  manners. 

Florida  is  divided  into  Walton,  FiScamhia,  Washington,  Jackson,  Gads- 
den, Leon,  Jeflerson,  Fayette,  and  some  other  new  counties. 

Comparative  advantuf^cs  of  hnmh^ratlon  to  Florida.    This  country 
was  in  some  points  of  view  an  invaluable  acquisition  to  the  United  States. 
It  was  necessary  to  the'rounding,  and  completing  the  area  of  our  surface, 
that  no  foreign  power  should  possess  a  territory  surrounded  by  our  own. 
It  was  necessary  for  llic  possession  of  its  harbors,  and  its  immense  lino  of 
coast.    It  was  invaluable  for  its  inexhaustible  supplies  of  ship  timber. 
As  an  agricultural  country,  it  must  bo  confessed,  a  great  part  of  it  is 
sterile.     Tiic  level  pine  forest  lands  v»  HI  bring  one  or  two  crops  of  corn 
without  manure;  and  will,  probably  bee  Itivated  to  a  certain  extent  with 
indigo.     The  drier  lands  of  this  sort  are  admirable  for  sweet  potatoes, 
and  on  the  whole  better,  with  the  requisite  cultivation,  and  manuring,  for 
gardens,  than  soils,  naturally  more  fertile.  There  arc  considerable  bodies 
of  excellent  land,  distributed  at  wide  intervals  over  all  the  country.     But 
a  small  proportion  of  these  arc,  what  are  dcmoninatcd  first  rate.     Some 
parts,  probably,  offer  equal  advantages  for  the  cultivation  of  sugar  with 
the  sugar  lands  of  Louisiana.     Cochineal,  it  is  supposed,  will  be  made  to 
advantage,  and  it  may  be,  coflec.     It  oilers  sui>crior  maritime  advantages 
of  every  sort;  abounds  in  the  materials  of  ship  building;  and  in  its  rich 
and  inexhaustible  fisheries,  and  its  supply  of  oysters,  and  sea  fowl  has  its 
own  peculiar  advantages.     Tlie  immigrant,  who  sought  to  enrich  him- 
self by  cultivation  alone,  would,  probably,  make  his  way  to  the  richer 
soils,  west  of  the  Mississippi.    But,  if  taken  as  a  whole,  it  is  more  sterile 
than  the  country  along  the  Mississippi,  it  feels  tlic  refreshing  coolness  of 
tlic  sea  breeze,  and  the  trade  winds,  and,  it  is  beyond  a  doubt,  more 
heaUhy. — Nature  has  her  own  way  of  balancing  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages, over  the  globe ;  and  a  Florida  planter  finds  sufiicient  reasons,  on 
comparing  his  country  with  others,  to  be  satisfied  with  his  lot. 

Chief  Towns.  St.  Augustine  is  the  chief  town  of  East  Florida,  and 
the  most  populous  in  the  Country.  It  is  situated  on  the  Atlantic  coast, 
thirty  miles  below  the  mouth  of  St.  Johns,  about  two  miles  within  the 
bar,  opposite  the  inlet,  and  at  the  neck  of  a  i)cninsula,  in  north  latitude 
20°  45'. — The  bars  at  the  entrance  of  the  inlet  have  from  eight  to  ten  feet 


f  I  n  I  .•; 


;*,- 


■r 


T-ns 

'  -  jirr  ■ 
.  *    • 


208 


FliOniDA. 


VVfttor.  Tho  town  is  Itiiilt  ofjin  ohloni,'  form,  d^yidcd  Iiy  four  Htrcets,  thaj 
cut  oarli  other  ;it  ri;;lit  nin,'!*-!,  foitilicd  l»y  biistions,  and  Hurroundcd 
l)y  a  ditch,  and  is  d('fni(I<!(l  hy  ;i  c:isll(^,  ciilh d  I'ort  St.  John.  Tiic  river 
St.  Murks,  fl  )ws  throii;,di  thd  harhor,  and  divides  the  town  from  the  island. 
Tho  streets  arc  {,'oncrally  so  narrow,  ns  scarcely  to  permit  two  carriages 
to  pnss  eacli  other.  To  halaiu^c  this  inconvenicince,  tho  houses  liavo  a 
terrace  foun<lation,  wiiieh,  heini,'  shaded,  renders  walkinjrr  in  the  sultry 
days  aj[Treeable.  'I'lie  houses  are  ircMierally  built  of  ii  free  slono,  ix3culiar 
to  the  country.  This  rock  is  obtained  from  llio  adjacent  island,  and  is 
formed  of  concrete  sea  shells.  'I'hc  external  walls  arc  plastered,  and 
have  a  handsome  and  durable  appearance.  They  are  not  more  than  two 
stories  hi<,'h,  with  thick  walls,  spacious  entries,  larirc  doors,  windows  and 
balconies,  and  commonly  a  hiryo  and  beautiful  garden  attached  to 
tlicm. 

On  entering  this  ancient  lookinfj  town  from  tho  sen,  the  castle  of  Fort 
St.  Mark  has  an  imposin;r  elli-ct  Jipon  the  eye.  It  is  a  fort  forty  feet 
high,  and  in  the  modern  stylo  of  military  architecture.  It  commands  tho 
entrance  of  the  harbor  and  is  of  a  regular  (juadrangular  form  with  four 
bastions,  a  wide  ditch,  and  sixty  heavy  cannon,  and  is  capable  of  contain- 
ing one  thousand  men.  It  is  on  a  point  of  land  between  tho  conflux  of 
Matanzas  creek,  and  St.  Stjbastian's,  and  forms  a  landscape  of  great  pic 
turesque  beauty,  with  its  interspersed  groves  of  orange  trees,  and  flower 
and  kitchen  gardens.  Although  the  .soil  about  St.  Augustine  is  so  sandy 
as  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  being  sterile,  yet  it  is  far  from  being  un- 
productive. It  brings  two  crops  of  maize  in  a  year;  and  garden  vegeta- 
bles grow  in  great  perfection. — The  orange  and  lemon  grow  as  if  they 
were  indigenous,  of  a  greater  size,  it  is  aflirmed,  than  in  Spain  or  Portu- 
gal. One  tree  has  been  found  to  produce  four  thousand  oranges.  The 
liarbor  would  be  one  of  the  best,  were  it  not  for  the  bar  at  its  entrance, 
which  prevents  the  approach  of  large  vessels.  There  is  a  light  house  on 
the  island,  and  some  gardens,  and  orange  and  date  trees.  From  this  island 
are  taken  taken  the  stones,  of  whicli  the  town  is  built,  and  here  commen- 
ces the  northern  limit  of  that  remarkable  quarry  of  stone,  that  skirts  the 
southern  shore  of  Florida.  Tho  population  of  Si.  Augustine  now  con- 
sists of  beivvccn  4  and  5,000  inhabitants.  Near  this  town  grows  the  palm 
or  date  tree.  Its  branches  attract  notice  from  their  singular  beauty,  and 
constant  rustling,  like  aspen  leaves,  as  well  as  tho  peculiarity  of  the  under 
branches,  which  serve  for  ladders,  by  which  to  ascend  the  tree.  The  fruit 
in  form  resembles  the  largest  acorn,  and  is  covered  with  a  thin,  transpa- 
rent, yellowish  membrane,  containing  a  soft  saccharine  pulp,  of  a  some- 
what vinous  flavor,  in  which  is  cucloscd  an  oblong,  hard  kernel.  When 
ripe,  it  afibrds  an  agreeable  nourishment.    The  olive  Jias  already  become 


* 


ri,onii>\. 


200 


naturalizetl  to  llic  poll.     Homo  Imvo  nsserfod,  iliat  tocca  irecs  would 
succeed  in  tlio  soutliorii  purls  ofllic  poniiisnl;!. 

Pcnsacoln,  fifty  tnilcH  from  Mobile,  Ih  tlio  cii)!!:!!  of  West  Florida.     It 
isflitu:itod  on  a  bay  of  llio  snino  naiiic,  in  ni)rlli  lUr  :i\J'  ;iiul  in  longitude 
10°  IH'  fi'oin  W!isliin;.r|()ii.     'J'lu'  shore  is  low  iinti  sandy;  hut  the  town  is 
built  on  n  j,'(.'ntlo  ascent.     It  is,  liko  St.  Anunstine,  liiiilt  in  an  oblong 
form,  and  is  nearly  a  niiln  in  len<.Mli.     Small  vessels  only  can  come  quite 
tollictown.     IJiit  tln^  bay  allbrds  oMo  of  tlie  most  safe  nnd  capacioui 
linrbors  in  all  the  pnlf  of  Mexico.     It  lias  been  selected  by  our  govern- 
ment, as  a  naval  station  nnd  depot,  for  which  its  harbor,  nnd  theadvan* 
(ape  of  fine  ship   timber  in  the  neiiihborhood,  nnd  its  relative  position 
admirably  fit  it.    A  stream  of  fresh  water  runs  tliroii<,'li  the  town,  anditi 
market  is  well  supplied  with  beef,  tjarden  vegetables  and  lish.  Oysters,  tur- 
ik-g  and  ^'ophers  arc^  important  items  in  the  supplies  of  food,  and  espe- 
cially sea  fowls.     It  was  an  old  iiiid  decnyin[;  town,  when  it  came  under 
tlic  American   jfovcnmient.     At  that  period  it  received  that  iinpidse  of 
increase  and  prosperity,  which  has  uniformly  been  the  result  of  coming 
under   the  American  <fovermnent.     A  number  of  new  and  handsome 
brick  houses  were  built.     Numerous  adventurers  flocked  to  the  place 
drawn  thither  by  its  natural  advantaires,  nnd  its  reputation  for  uncommon 
salubrity.  In  the  fatal  aiitnuin  of  1S2'2,  the  yellow  fever  visited  this  place 
in  common  with  many  other  towns  on  the  piilf     Extreme  negligence  in 
the  police  of  the  town  is  supposed  to  have  caused  it.     Confidence  in  its 
fancied  exemption  from  that  terrible  malady  was  destroyed;  and  it  again 
declined.     It  is,  unquestionably,  a  salubrious  position,  and  it  is  believed, 
that  its  natural  advanta<res,  added  to  those,  which  result  from  its  being  a 
naval  position,  will  restore  its  proper  degree   of  cstlin  ition  and  import- 
ance.    Its  supplies  arc  now  in  a  considerable  <legreo  from  New  Orleans. 
Of  course  it  is  a  place  something  more  expensive  than  that  city.     One  of 
its  inconveniences  is  a  very  sandy  position;  and  the  inhabitants  are  said 
to  acquire  a  general  gait,  as  if  continually  walking  in  a  sand,  that  gave 
way  under  their  feet.     At  present  it  contains  a  very  respectable  society, 
though  the  aspect  of  the  town  is  rallicr  unpleasant.     It  contains  nearly 
three  thousand  inhabitants. 

St.  Marks  is  an  inconsiderable  sea  port  nine  miles  from  Tallahasse, 
and  is  the  nearest  navigable  point  to  that  place. 

Tallahasso  has  been  selected,  as  'the  seat  of  government  for  the 
territory  of  Florida.  The  reasons,  which  determined  the  governor  and 
commissioners  to  fix  on  this  place,  as  the  metropolis,  were  its  central 
position,  fertility  of  soil,  and  the  reputation,  it  had  acquired  among 
the  Spanish  and  Indians  of  being  uncommonly  salubrious.  The  po- 
sition was  fixed  upon  for  the  scat  of  government  in  1824.  It  was 
divided  into  lots,  and  sold  in  1825.     Five  squares  have  been  reserved  for 

27      : 


m 


•10 


rL<)iiin\. 


tlw  purposn  of  pnMir  l.niMiriL'H.     Tlio  prffinrfs  nf  tluMown  rnrirclo  n 
bcaiififiilly  un(liil;itiii<,'  coimtvy.     It  u;ih   iiniiiiMli.ifcIy  itiroifKirifcd  n.s  a 
city,     hitwo  ycirn  iVoiri  llio  liist  hiiildiiii',  llic  iiiiinlicr  ol' wliiics  ;in,| 
blacks  wore  supposed  to  aniDiiiit  to  NOO.     {^oiiic  respcctalflc  lions*  s  wck! 
biiih,  liiit  flir  prin(  ipal  pari  ofilio  lial)iliilionH  mo  t«'iii[)(iriiry  log  Imildincrs. 
Tlic  forrsf  in  lidliiii,'  on  nil  sidi'S,  nnd  it  is  d.dly  acipiiiinnr  niorc  niid  u\nrp 
the  nppcaranro  of  a  town.     'J'lio  nnioiint  of  llin  sales  of  tlio  lots  was 
84,000  dollars.     Tlial  siiin  w.is  approjnialcd  for  tli('  crcrlion  ofa  tiTrilo- 
finl  capilol.     TIk?  malcrials  for  Ijiiildiii!,'  jik;  ^'ood  and  aliimdaiit.     Tlino 
arc  already  n  imiiilirr  of  sloros,  taverns,  and  shops  of  all  tlu!  cnsloiiKiry 
mechanics,  with  a  Ihll  jiropoifioii  of  lawcis  jiiid  doctors,  and  VlOOlioiiscs. 
A  printin;,'  press,  li;is  Ix-en  cstalilislied,  from  which  issues  the  '  rioridi 
Intelligencer.'     'I'Ik;    I'Moiida   ni;dio':ony,  tli;d    <,'roNvs  in  the  vicinity,  is 
scarcely  infc-ior  to  that,  liroii'.'ht  from  llnnduraH.     Tlicrearo  fine  situa- 
tions for  mill  scats  in  iIk;  vicinity,  and  fjrcat  scojie  for  industry  and  enter- 
prise of  every  .sort.     Post  roads  li:ive  heeii  opened  to  (ieornia,  St  Marks, 
St.  Augustine  and  J''  nsacola;  and  hrid^'es  and  feiriisso  esta])lislied,  that 
travelling  is  couiptiratively  s:ifc  and  easy.     Ininii'^rants  may  now  urriveat 
this  place  from  any  direction,  wilh(jut  heinir  ol)li;;(;d  to  sleep  out  ofa 
house.     In  consequence  of  the  sudden  inllux,  articles  at  first  were  very 
high.     Yet   the  nci^diljorliood  abounds   in   ;,Mmc,  fish  and  water  fowl. 
Venison  and  wild  turkeys  are  constantly  ollered  for  sale  hy  the  Indians. 
Trout  and  sun  fish  are  taken  in  th;-  iinmediatevicinily.     At  St.  Marks,  in 
the  neighboring  tide  waters,  sheep's  head,  and  other  sea  fish,  and  oystoiH 
abound.     The  country  around  is  lii^ili  aiul  rollini:',     Tiiis  jjlace  is  only 
three  miles  north  of  the  elevated  chain  of  rolling  hills,  which,  for  a  gre;it 
distance,  bound  the  shores  of  the  Mexican  gidf.     Thence  to  the  sea,  tlio 
land  is  low  and  level,  and  abounds  in  the  \un;j  leafed  jjine.     'I'hcrc  aro 
many  lakes  not  far  distant.     The  most  important  among  them  arc  Brad- 
ford's and  Jackson's.     The  kittor  is  a  clear  and  beautiful  sheet  of  wafer, 
fifteen  milca  long,  and  one  and  a  half  wide.     This  lake  has  risen,  within 
the  last  year,  six  or  seven  feet,     it  nmsl  have  had  a  sublerranean  outlet, 
which  seems  now  partially  stopped.     It  was  but  a  small  and  shallow  pond 
in  the  time  of  General  Jackson's  c:un])aign.     The  soil  about  this  town  ia 
a  mixture  of  loam,  sand  and  cl.iy.    The  growth  in  the  dry  grounds  is  oak, 
hickory  and  pine.     But  wild  cherry,  gum,  ash,  dog  wood,  mahogony  and 
magnolia  abound.  The  climate,  as  far  as  experience  goes,  is  very  healthy. 
The  common  summer  elevation  of  tlic  mercury  is  not  high.      The  range 
is  between  88°  in  summer  and  ^J 1°  in  winter.     The  heat  is  moderated 
by  a  sea  breeze.     The  dews  are  heavy.     Wlicre  the  soil  is  sufficiently 
rich,  the  climate  is  adapted  to  the  sugar  cane,  and  it  will  be  a  country 
for  the  growing  of  sugar.     Vessels  come  from  New   Orleans  to  St. 
Marks,  in  three  or  four  days.     Tlic  remarkable  '  big  spring'  of  the  river 
Wakulla  is  twelve  miles  distant. 


n.ouiDv. 


2ii 


Whan  llic  <'i»i»U'iiipl;iif'(l  cMii'l  >liiill  Icivc  liccii  c  inplcfcd,  niul  tho  rc- 
«()UT<'«H  of  ilio  coiiiifiy  tIc'VclMpcd,  I'l-w  \>bviH  prcyciii  nion;  utlractions  to 
iinmij.'M»<-^'     (luiiicy  timl  MniriH'Iin  tin;  lliriviiii,'  vill-ifjrs. 

Coiinfir.i  ami  ( 'hi'  f'  'i'ntniH  h(.siilr  f.'in^f  alremfif  mnitinncil.  Aliicliua, 
Pell;  Dnvdl,  Jnvl.foiniHi  ;  I'lscaiiilti  i,  PniKitrolu ;  ll[\u\'\\\i)]\^  MUrotown; 
Jackfj'ii,  MdfiifniHf  I  flvWcTHow,  Moiitii'i'Uo;  7,(«((ii,  'VnU(ih<iHm't';><\)(\\\\\\(iB 
from  \V(i(*l(iri:rton;  iM:u!i--')|(,  lllclxtnini;  IMuino,  .A'r//  ITr.v/;  MoHclicto^ 
Tomoht;  N:  r-^'ui,  FrnlitKimfit;  "U,  JoIuh,  St.  Airju.sfhir,  811  from 
Wiishiiiyfoii,  '-.".i-j.S.  K.  iiuia  TiilLilm.ssDc;  Walton,  Aliqua;  Washington, 
lloliiu\'i  Valhi/. 

ll'istonj.     'J'lio  l'!ii^i;.-^Ii  avor  tli:it  riori<l:i  wns  discovered,  in  1497,  by 
ydjiLstian  Cal)ot.     In  !.')•;  I,  th(;  lirsl  clll'ctuid  mMtlonicut  was  made  in 
tho  coiiiilry.     In  1.")'."^,  an  e.\i>o(liti(»ii  wmh  undeitnkcin  to  tho  country,  by 
Painphilo  do  Xarvaez,  with  ICO  nitii,  tVoni  tlio  ishind  of  Cuba,     lie  at- 
tompti'd  to  poiietralo  the  iiitciior  oflho  coiiiitiy,  and  was  never  heard  of 
iiioro.  In  ir^.'^N,  the  coiintiy  \v;ih  entirely  siil'(hied  by  F(!rdinand  dc  8otOj 
one  of  the  biave;-!t  ollicer.s  in  liie  Spanish  serviee.     .IJiit  the  savages  were 
numerous,  fierce  and  brave;;  and  it  cost  the  Si)anish  a  long  and  bloody 
6trn;L'gle  before  they  were  able  to  establish  themselves  in  the  country.  In 
If)!')!,  the  French  be<;an  to  establish  tin  inselves,  and  to  form  little  scttlc- 
nicntsalong  the  ^hore,and  from  the  facility,  with  which  they  have  ulwaya 
pained  the  ^rood  will  of  the  sava;_as,  they  become  at  once  powerful  and 
troublesome  to  the  Spaniards.     Their  settlements  were  seldom  of  an  ag- 
ricultural character.     'J'jicy  ;,renerally  took  part  with  the  natives,  and  ad- 
dicted themselves  to  hnntiiiir.   Tlie  Spanish  sent  a  fleet  a<Tainst  them,  and 
destroyed  their  settlements.    In  l.")t)7,  the  French  made  severe  reprisals 
demolirihin!,' all  tho  forts,  erected  by  the  Spaniards,  and  murdering  all  the 
colonists,  whom  they  found  in  the  country.     From  this  time  the  French 
neglected  their  estalilishments  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  the  Spanish 
continued  from  time  to  time,  to  make  petty  establishments  here.     In 
ir)8(),  St.  Augustine  was  attacked  and  pillaged  by  Sir  Fnmcis  Drake. 
Iji  IGCm,  it  was  entered,  and  pbiiu'.ered  by  Captain  Davis  at  the  head  of 
abody  of  bucanncers.     In  17()'.i,  Colonel  INlorc  at  the  head  of  500  Eng- 
lish and  700  Indi;iiis,  marched  from  Carolina  to  the  walls  of  St.  Augustine, 
and  laid  close  siege  to  it  for  three  months.     Tiie  Spaniards,  having  sent 
a  squadron  to  the  relief  of  the  garrison,  be  raised  tiie  siege,  and  made  a 
precipitate  retreat.     Wiien   the  Biilish  established  the   first  colony  in 
Georgia,  in  Al'X^,   tlie  S[)aniards  became  apprehensive  of  a  new  attack 
upon  Florida,  and  hot    without  reason;  for  in  1710,  an  expedition  was 
fitted  ont  against  St.   Aiigusline  by  Ogjelhorpe.     Ibit  the  Spanish  com- 
mander, having  received  timely  notice  of  the  intended  attack,  made  such 
additions  to  the  strength   of  the  garrison,  and  used  such  other  artificial 
defences,  as  that  the  English  were  conn>.'lled  after  sustaining  considera- 


iii 


"%;. 


212 


FLOUIDA. 


ble  loss  to  abandon  the  siogc.  In  17(53,  Floriilii  was  ccdoil  to  Great 
Britain,  in  cxcliange  for  Ilavanna.  She  received  Florida,  as  an  Cfjuiva- 
lent  for  that  very  imporiaut  acquisition.  By  tlio  encouragement,  whicli 
the  government  gave  to  agriculture,  numbers  of  colonists  poured  in  from 
every  part  of  the  Britisli  islands,  and  from  all  the  countries  in  Europe;  and 
this  may  be  considered,  as  the  most  prosperous  period  of  the  country,  as 
regarded  its  future  prospects. — In  the  year  1781,  while  Great  Britain  was 
exerting  all  her  powers  to  reduce  her  revolted  colonics,  a  well  concerted 
attack  by  the  Spaniards,  re-conquered  the  country,  and  brought  it  under 
its  ancient  regime,  and  it  was  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  peace  of  1783. 
It  remained  in  their  possession,  forming  one  of  the  three  governments, 
which  composed  the  captain-generalship  of  the  island  of  Cuba.  In  1810, 
the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  West  Florida,  which  now  composes  part  of 
the  states  of  Alabama  and  Louisiana,  in  concert  with  the  American  au- 
thorities, renounced  the  government  of  S]riin,and  attached  themselves  to 
the  United  States.  The  revolution  was  cllecfed  without  bloodshed.  It  ig 
said  that  they  hesitated  about  tlie  propriety  of  setting  up  an  independent 
government,  and  that  they  sent  delegates  to  our  government,  to  treat 
Tespecting  the  terms  of  reception.  The  country,  so  seceding,  came 
peaceably  under  our  government,  and  has  so  remained  ever  since. 

We  know  little  of  the  interior  history  of  tliis  country,  while  under  the 
'Spanish  regime.  St.  Augustine,  Pensacola  and  St.  Marks  were  the  only 
places  of  much  importance.  Tlic  country  supplied  Ilavaima  with  cattle 
and  horses;  and  furnished  an  occasional  retreat  to  the  inhabitants  of  that 
city  during  the  sickly  season.  They  had  the  customary  Spanish  engines  of 
government,  a  priest,  a  calaboza,  a  commandant  and  a  file  of  soldiers. 
History  redeems  but  little  from  the  silence  of  such  a  government,  as  it 
respects  knowledge  of  the  character  and  deportment  of  the  ofiicers,  ortlie 
•condition  of  the  people.  The  materials  of  such  annals,  if  any  exist,  are  in 
the  archives  at  Ilavanna.  Meantime  our  government  had  heavy  and  well 
grounded  claims  on  the  Spanisli  government  for  spoliations  committed  on 
our  commerce.  These  claims,  as  also  settling  definitely  the  territorial  lino 
of  jurisdiction  between  the  United  States  and  New  ]Mexico,  made  the  basis 
of  a  treaty,  by  which  the  Spanish  ceded  to  us  tlie  entire  country.  The 
treaty  was  made  a  law  in  1820;  and  it  tlien  became  a  territory  of  the 
United  States,  and  has  since  advanced  with  that  steady  progress  in 
population  and  prosperity,  wiiich  has  marked  every  country,  that  haa 
thus  been  added  to  our  government. 

It  is  supposed,  there  are  seven  millions  of  acres  in  the  coffee  region  of 
Florida;  eight  millions  of  sugar  land;  and  nine  millions  of  cotton  and 
grain  landj  making  twenty-four  million  acres  of  marketable  land. 


AliABAMA. 


Length,  280  miles.  Breadth,  IGO  miles;  containing  4G,000  square 
miles.  Between  30°  12'  and  35°  N.  latitude;  and  between  8°  and  11° 
30'  "W.  longitude  from  Washington.  Bounded  North  by  Tennessee;  East 
by  Georgia;  Soutli  by  Florida,  and  West  by  the  state  of  Mississippi. 

CIVIL  DIVISIONS. 

Counties.  Autauga,  Baldwin,  Blount,  Bibb,  Butler,  Clarke,  Conecuh, 
Covington,  Dallas,  Decatur,  Franklin,  Fayette,  Greene,  Henry,  Jackson, 
Jefferson,  Lauderdale,  Lawrence,  Limestone,  Lowndes,  Madison,  Maren- 
go, Marion,  Mobile,  Monroe,  Morgan,  Montgomery,  Perry,  Pickens, 
Pike,  Shelby,  St.  Clair,  Tuscaloosa,  Washington,  Wilcox,  and  Walker. 

Population.  No  part  of  the  western  country  has  had  a  more  rapid 
increase  of  population,  than  this  state.  In  1800,  that  portion  of  the  present 
state  of  Mississippi,  which  is  now  Alabama,  had  only  2,000  inhabitants. 
In  1810,  it  contained  10,00.  In  1820,  it  numbered  127,000.  By  the 
census  of  1830, 199.221  free  whites  and  1 12,G2.'>  slaves.    Total,  31 1,846. 

This  state  rises  by  regular  belts,  or  terraces  from  the  gulf  of  Mexico. 
The  lower  belt  is  low,  level,  and  has  many  swamps  and  savarmas,  and 
the  prevailing  timber  is  pine.  The  northern  belt  is  plcas;mtly  undulating. 
Tennessee  valley,  though  a  deep  alluvial  country,  is  in  fact  high  table 
land,  and  there  arc  few  table  countries,  whicli  excel  this  part  of  the 
state  in  fertility,  mildness  of  climate,  and  pleasantness  of  position. 
This  valley  is  separated  from  that  of  the  Alabama  by  hills  of  such  lofty 
and  precipitous  character,  as  generally  to  merit  the  name  of  mountains. 
Some  of  these  peaks  tower  3,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  gulf.  One 
chain  runs  from  Ross,  on  Tennessee  river,  between  the  Coosa  and  Black 


HI 


an 


ALABAMA. 


Warrior,  piviiiL'  rise  lo  Iho  fiend  waters  of  C.ili.iwba.  Another  sepanitcs 
till!  streams  of  tlicgiiirrroin  those,  tint  fall  into  the  Teimcssec.  Another 
raii^'e  divides  between  tlic  waters  of  the  Black  Warrior,  and  Ton»bi;irbeCi 

llircr,%  Tiio  Chatahochy  separates  liiis  slate  from  Georgia,  and  not 
far  below  the  limils  of  that  stale,  unites  with  Flint  river,  to  form  the 
Appalachicola  of  Florida. — The  Tennessee  eurves  from  the  north-cast  to 
the  north-west  corner  of  llie  stale  near  its  northern  line.  A  line  of  hills 
with  a  curve,  corres|)ondiii;,r  with  that  of  the  Tennessee,  runs  at  a  distance 
of  between  iifly  and  eiojity  miles  from  that  river,  jTivin«r  rise  to  numerous 
streams,  that  flow  from  one  declivily  north  lo  the  Tennessee,  and  from 
the  other  south,  to  the  waters  of  the  Alabama  and  Tombigbec.  Into 
Tennessee  flow  Walts'  riv(M-,  Turkey  creek,  Poplar  creek,  Occochapa  and 
many  smaller  streams.  Tlicso  rivers  reach  the  Tciuiessec  either  at  the 
Muscle  Shoals,  or  near  them.  It  is  [)roposed  to  unite  the  waters  of  die 
Tennessee  with  the  upper  waters  of  the  Tombigbee  by  a  canal,  which 
shall  cross  Bear  creek  of  llie  Tennessee,  and  ihe  line  of  hills,  that  sepa- 
rates the  waters  of  that  river  from  those  of  Tombigbec,  and  unite  the 
the  canal  with  an  upper  and  beatable  branch  of  that  river. 

Mobile  river  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  Alabama  and  Tombigbee^ 
and  is  so  called  up  lo  the  point,  where  these  rivers  unite  at  Fort  Mimms^ 
It  enters  Mobile  bay  by  two  mouths.  The  Alabama  is  the  eastern  branch 
of  the  Mobile,  and  is  itself  formed  from  the  junction  of  the  Coosa  and 
Tallapoosa  rivers.  The  'i'aliapoosa  rises  in  the  Alleghany  ridges  in 
Georgia,  where  it  is  called  Occafiisky,  and  receives  a  number  of  tribu- 
taries in  the  Indian  country.  It  i);isses  over  considerable  falls,  before  it 
gives  its  waters  to  the  Alabama. — The  Tallapoosa  rises  far  the  same 
ridges,  and  jjursues  a  somcwirat  longer  course  to  the  south-west.  Both 
are  rapid  streams,  run  through  the  Creek  country,  and  arc  not  boatablei 
lo  any  considerable  distance  above  their  junclion. — From  this  junction 
the  Alabama  receives  a  number  of  small  streams  from  the  east,  bends 
towards  the  west  and  receives  the  Caliawba.  It  is  navigable  by  sea  vessels 
to  Fort  Claiborne.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  rivers  of  the  southern  country, 
and  navigable  for  sfeani  boats  of  llic  largest  class,  for  a  great  distance. 
A  number  ply  conslanlly  on  it.  They  transport  130,000  bales  of  cotton 
to  Mobile.  When  llie  tiile  of  the  lands  of  the  Creek  Indians  shall  have 
become  vested  in  the  Uiiiled  States,  and  the  beautiful  country  on  the 
head  waters  of  this  river  settled  by  whites,  it  is  probable,  that  Montgom- 
ery, situated  midway  between  Mobile,  ami  tiie  highest  points  of  steam 
navigation  on  this  river,  v»"ill  become  one  of  the  most  important 
towns  in  the  stale.  The  Tombi^'bce  rises  in  the  ridges,  that  separate 
between  its  waters  and  those  of  the  Temios,^ee,  in  the  northern  parts  of 
the  state  J  and  receives  some  of  its  wealern  branches  from  a  range,  that 


'^ 


ALAIIAMA. 


21!j 


tlivorgcfl  from  llic  Tcnncp.'oc  hills,  and  ninB  sontli  along  llic  middle  of  flic 
state  of  Mississippi.  It  receives,  in  its  projricss,  iiniiy  coiisiderablo 
sfreiims  from  the  stalo  of  Mississippi  on  llie  west.  It  mcandrrs  ihroiiffh 
(he  Indian  conntry,  and  a  tract  pine  li.is( d  by  l''r('ii(ii  inuniifranls.  Ei<;h(y 
miles  above  Si,  Stepliors,  it  is  s\V(  llcil  by  flu;  accession  of  the  lilaciv 
Warrior,  to  which  place  small  s(\i  vessels  ascend,  fii  moderate  slaires  of 
the  water,  it  allbrds  st(\'im  boat  navi<fati()n  to  Tuscaloosa. — I'oth  these 
rivers  arc  extremely  favondjio  to  boat  navigation;  and  during  the  higher 
Btages  of  water,  a  number  of  steam  bouts  are  constantly  moving  throngli 
tjie  dark  forests  and  rich  alluvions  of  these  fine  rivers.  Yellow,  Chactaw 
and  Pea  rivers  rise  in  tliis  slate,  and  pass  into  Florida,  as  does  also  tlio 
Conecuh,  a  consIdera])lu  river,  that  rises  in  tlio  int(>rior,  and  find  its  way 
to  the  sea  through  that  conntry.  The  Tensa  is  a  branch,  or  enlargement 
of  Mobile  river,  before  it  enters  I\bibile  bay.  The  Perdido  separates  this 
state  from  Fh)rida,  as  the  Pascagoula.  on  tlic  west  does  from  the  slate  of 
Mississippi.  Escambia  rises  near  Fort  C!laiborne,  and  running  a  south- 
wardly course,  unites  with  the  Conccuii,  and  forms  Escambia  bay  above 
Pensacola. 

Face  of  the  coiinfn/,  .<fo/7,  Sfc.  I'lio  fi)llovviiig  was  considered  by  the 
purchasing  immigrants  a  very  accurate  and  fiilhfid  gemfral  delineation 
of  the  qualities  of  the  soil.  It  is  cbicfly  extracted  from  the  j)ublished 
accounts  of  the  United  States'  surveyor  in  that  district;  and  has  (ho 
advantage  of  having  been  the  result  of  actual  inspection.  Tlic  general 
sliapc  of  the  state  is  that  of  a  well  defined  ]vu-allelogram.  I^ho  only 
undefined  line  is  the  soutliorn  one.  From  this  lino  anoth(!r  parallcjiogram 
is  formed,  extending  between  Florida  and  the  state  of  ]Mississippi,  It 
includes  Mobile  bay.  This  was  once  part  of  West  Florida,  and  was 
necessary  to  this  state,  to  enable  it  to  communicate  with  the  gulf  of 
Mexico.  Except  the  alluvions  on  Mobile!  river,  the  sod  is  generally  a 
pine  barren.  In  IMobile  bay  arc  the  islands  Dauphin,  Massacre  and  Petit 
Bois.  Mobile  bay  is  a  deep  and  commodious  entrance  into  the  interior. 
Dauphin  island  is  of  a  triangular  slia]»e,  and  five  miles  in  length.  The 
ship  channel  is  between  Dauphin  island,  and  Llobilo  point.  There  is 
another  pass,  called  Pass  an  Heron,  which  has  but  six  feet  water  over  itg 
bar.  Taking  the  state,  as  a  whole,  the  northern  parts,  near  Tennessee,  arc 
generally  hilly  and  precipitous.  At  the  northern  commencement  of  this 
belt,  it  is  mountainous,  and  a  ccmlinuatiou  of  tiic  Alleghany  hills.  The 
central  interior  region  is  generally  waving  hills.  As  we  approach  within 
fifty  or  sixty  miles  of  Florida,  the  swamps  are,  for  the  most  pari,  timber- 
ed with  cypress  and  gum  trees,  and  some  loblolly  pines;  and  the  ui)lands 
with  long  leafed  pine.  These  pine  swells  and  levels  have  a  very  thin  soil; 
but  generally  having  a  substratum  of  clay,  contain  within  themselves  a 


U-- 


IXH 


216 


ALABAMA. 


principle  of  fertility,  wliich,  when  cultivation  shall  be  advanced,  and 
population  sufliciently  compact,  will  not  fail  to  be  called  forth.  At 
present,  they  bear,  without  manuring,  two  or  three  crops  of  maize,  and 
perhaps  one  or  two  of  small  cotton.  But  in  the  present  order  of  things, 
while  there  are  suflicicnt  extents  of  rich  lands,  the  pine  barrens  will  be 
held  in  little  estimation;  and  they  probably,  include  more  than  one  half 
the  surface  of  the  state.  Among  the  pine  woods  grows  rank  grass» 
furnishing  fine  and  inexliaustible  summer  range,  'i'he  alluvions  on  the 
Alabama  and  Tombigbee  are  generally  wide,  and  for  the  most  part  first 
rate  lands.  Some  affirm,  that  they  are  equal  to  the  lands  on  tlie  Missis- 
sippi. When  those  lands  came  into  the  market  in  the  land  office,  the 
rash  and  grasping  spirit  of  land  speculation  raised  them  to  an  inordinate 
price,  which  proved,  in  many  instances,  ruinous  to  the  purchasers.  In 
some  cases,  these  lands  in  a  slate  of  nature,  sold  as  high  as  fifty  dollars 
an  acre.  The  alluvial  soils  on  the  margins  of  the  streams  generally  are 
fertile  and  productive.  The  hammock  lands  rank  at  the  head  of  the 
second  rate  lands,  and  their  fertility  is  of  long  duration. — They  consti- 
tute an  intermediate  belt  between  the  bottoms  and  pine  ridges.  They 
generally  have  a  slope,  like  a  glacis.  In  the  first  rate  lands  no  pines  are 
to  be  seen.  In  second  rate  lands  pines  are  intermixed  with  dog  wood, 
hickory  and  oak.  Wherever  the  high  table  grounds  are  seen  covered 
with  oaks,  dog  wood  trees,  and  the  pawpaw  intermixed,  the  soil  is  sure 
to  be  fine.  The  French  immigrants  are  sanguine  in  the  belief,  that  the 
s]oi)es  and  hammocks  of  tliis  state  would  afford  eligible  soils  and  situa- 
tions for  vineyards.  It  will  be  an  omen  for  good  for  the  country  in  gen- 
eral, and  for  this  state  in  particular,  if  they  prosper  in  attempting  to  rear 
the  vine  and  the  olive.  Experience  has  abundantly  demonstrated,  that 
the  great  bulk  of  American  farmers  are  little  disposed  to  speculative 
agriculture. — They  prefer  to  fix  their  attention  upon  corn,  cotton,  tobac- 
co, beef  and  pork.  Along  the  southern  limits  of  the  state  the  soil  is 
thin,  and  the  unvarying  verdure  of  the  pine,  tires  by  its  uniformity.  On 
the  head  waters  of  the  Escambia,  and  Conecuh,  the  soil  and  climate  are 
favorable  to  the  sugar  cane;  ahd  here  are  seen  those  groves  of  orange 
trees,  of  whicli  travellers  have  spoken  with  so  much  delight,  affirming 
them  to  be  indigenous.  They  were,  beyond  question,  the  growth  of 
seeds  scattered  from  orange  groves,  originally  cultivated  by  Spaniards 
in  Florida. 

In  the  lower  parts  of  the  state,  as  we  approach  Florida,  the  swamps 
become  more  and  more  extensive.  Cypress  lands  are  abundant  On  the 
alluvial  grounds,  which  are  not  inundated,  is  large  and  rank  cane.  Be- 
low the  Tombigbee,  the  river  is  apt  to  inundate  the  bottoms  and  swamps, 
and  the  musquitos  are  excessively  annoying.    As  we  ascend  into  the 


'',^..-fr 


AI-.V!{.i.\IA. 


217 


rentral  parls  of  llie  sl.itt',  the  l:iinls  brciMiio  !ii!.'h  and  broken,  and  pine  is 
less  trtM]ii(;nt.     0;il<,  liicKory  and  iMiphr  urc  lln-w.  the  j)revailing  growth. 

The  most  oxlciisivo  liodii'S  of  frond  land,  iind  lliose,  wliicli  arc  at  present 
most  poindous,  are  between  tlic  Al;il);'ina  and  Tombigboe,  the  bottoms 
of  the  Tallai)()Osa  and  llic  Black  Warrior.  Passing  over  tjio  ridge,  that 
separates  tbc  waters  of  ibc  Conecidi  iVom  t^iose  of  ihe  Alaliama,  there 
is  an  extensive  body  of  rieli  land.  On  tlio  liciid  waters  of  Lime  Stone 
creek,  tiiere  is  also  a  tine  body  of  land.  A  considerable  distance  above 
the  junction  of  tlic  Coosa  and  TalJajmosi,  tlierc  is  a  country  of  fine 
swells  of  land,  watered  with  nv;|U('ii(  s|niii'js  of  ])nro  water.  The  land 
is  licavily  timbered  with  tliosi;  kinds  of  trees,  that  indicate  a  rich  soil. — 
It  is  inhabited  by  the  Creek  Lidians. 

Character  of  the  itopvlntion.  'J'liis  state  was  originally  a  part  of 
the  Mississippi  territory.  It  has  acfjuircd  population  with  great  rapidity, 
and  already  far  exceeds  in  numbers  llie  stale,  from  wliich  it  was  taken. 
Few  states  have  had  so  great  an  incn-ase.  This  was  owing  in  part  to 
its  contiguity  to  Georgia,  and  its  proximity  1o  the  Carolines;  and  its 
having  fresh  and  fertile  lands,  and  y(>t  being  in  other  respects,  as 
regards  soil,  climate,  and  situation,  very  similar  to  those  states.  Immi- 
grants from  the  land  of  pine  and  cypress  forests,  love  to  sec  these  trees 
in  the  new  regions,  to  which  they  transi)lant  themselves.  Public  opinion 
had  estimated  this  country,  as  more  tlian  conimoidy  healthy,  for  its 
climate.  That  part  of  it,  lying  south  of  tJio  Tennessee  ridge,  has  great 
facilities  of  communication  with  the  sea.  The  southern  planters  ordina- 
rily do  not  covet  a  country,  w  liich  admits  a  very  dense  population.  They 
love  space,  in  whicjj  to  move  tliemsclves.  They  prefer  those  extensive 
pine  barrens,  in  which  there  is  such  inexhaustible  range  for  cattle,  and 
which  will  not,  for  a  long  time  admit  a  dense  population.  At  the  same 
time,  they  desire  at  intervals  rich  alluvial  soils  of  thick  cane  brake,  the 
proper  soil  for  cotton.  Alabama,  furnished  them,  in  these  respects,  all 
they  could  wish.  It  was  nnich  healthier,  than  tlic  maratimc  parts  of 
the  Carolinas;  and  at  tlie  same  time  had  a  soil  better  ada,i)ted  to  cotton. 
This  may  account  for  tJie  great  immigration  from  the  Carolinas  and 
Georgia,  and  for  that  surprising  increase  in  tiie  population,  which  we  have 
already  noted  in  the  table  of  civil  divisicjns, 

Tlie  people  in  this  state  ha\e  a,  gcih  lal  clnracler  for  order,  quietness, 
a  regard  for  religion,  scIujijIs,  and  soci:il  and  moral  institutions;  more 
decided  than  could  have  been  exprv^kd,  taking  into  view  the  recent 
origin  of  the  state. — 'J'jicy  spe.;k,  r.nd  tbink  of  ihemsclves,  in  reference 
to  the  states  further  south  and  west,  with  no  small  degree  of  assumption 
in  the  comparison.  There  are  jniny  opidmt  phmtors  with  large  numbers 
of  slaves  J  and  they  poBsess  the  elKuacten»1icj]io3pitulily  of  these  iKJople 


218 


ALAIJAMA. 


'every  wlicio  They  have  not  f(jiino(l  a  character,  as  a  state.  They  have 
'few  reli<,'iou.s,  literary  or  oliior  institutions.  Bat  they  are  developing  a 
^character,  which  will  lead  to  respeet;il)lo  ;ind  ininirrons  fouiulations  of 
this  kind.  Travellers  have  hccu  I'lvoruljly  ini])rL'.s.sed  with  the  charac- 
teristics of  hospitality,  riuictness  and  ^ood  order,  whicii  tlicy  generally 
witnessed.  The  people  hcLiin  to  be  alive  to  the  vital  interests  of 
schools  and  education.  The  usual  appropriations  of  lands  foi  colleges 
•and  schools  have  been  made  hy  congress  for  this  stale.  From  the  conipa- 
tively  high  price  of  lands,  these  approi)riations  must  ultimately  constitute 
a  respectable  fund. 

Seminaries.  Alabama  contains  three  colleges;  The  Catholic  college 
near  Mobile,  the  Methodist  coUe^'c  at  Laf^range,  a  respectable  institution, 
and  Alabama  college  at  Tuscaloosa.  This  last  is  an  amply  endowed 
institution.  One  of  the  buildings  is  magnilicent.  Great  exertions  have 
been  made  to  purchase  a  respectable  li])rary  and  philoso])hical  apparatus, 
and  in  point  of  pofessorships  and  other  appointments  to  place  it  on  a 
^footing  with  the  most  respect ;il)lo  institutions  of  liie  kind. 

Climate.  Tiie  eliiuate  of  this  iAiiU},  taken  together,  is  favorable  to 
health,  compared  ^\ilh  the  southern  country  generally  in  the  same  paral- 
lels. The  lower  part  of  it  is  constantly  fanned,  during  the  summer 
heats,  by  the  trade  wind  breezes,  'i'liero  c;in  hardly  be  said  to  be  such  a 
^season,  as  winter,  and  yet  the  summers  arc  not  hotter,  than  they  are  many 
degrees  more  to  the  north.  TJio  duration  of  the  summer  heats  is  indeed 
debilitating,  and  the  direct  rays  of  tlio  sunnner's  sun  oppressive.  But 
strangers  from  the  north  in  the  sluidc,  and  in  the  current  of  air,  seldom 
euiier  from  the  heat.  In  the  northern  parts  of  the  state  still  waters  often 
freeze.  In  the  southern  parts  they  seldom  sec  much  snow  or  ice.  Cattlo 
require  no  shelter  during  the  winter.  ]\lai/c  is  planted  early  in  March. 
In  the  31st  degree  of  latitude  tlie  thermometer  stands  in  spring  water 
at  69°  which  is  nearly  the  mean  temperature  of  the  year.  A  series  of 
thermometrical  operations  for  u  year  give  the  following  result.  The 
warmest  part  of  the  warmest  day  in  i\})ril  gave  82°. — Mean  heat  of  July 
of  the  same  year  8(5°.  Coldest  day  in  January  51°.  Coldest  day  in 
February  43°.  Warmest  day  in  IMarcli  85°.  Same  year  the  trees  in  the 
swamps,  where  vegetation  is  most  lardy,  were  in  full  leaf  the  2d  of  April; 
peach  blossoms  gone;  April  12th  r^-as  in  pod;  peaches  of  the  size  of  a 
hazlenut;  fig  trees  in  leaf;  greeii  peas  at  table,  May  2d;  strawberries 
ripe;  May  KUh  mulberries,  dewberries,  and  whortleberries  ripe;  May  15th 
cucumbers  in  perfection;  June  2lMh  roasting  corn  at  table. 

Diseases.  In  point  of  health  this  clinialo  takes  its  character  from 
situation  and  local  circumstances.  Tlie  })revailing  diseases  of  the  cooler 
months  are  those  of  the  class  termed  cuehe.w.     The  diseases  of  the  warm 


r 


■JSm. 


■  i^'^ 


AT,  ATI  A  MA  t 


21» 


montlis  are  gononlly  bilious.  AVIirro  tlio  powerful  snutlicrn  sun  brings 
(he  swamp  miasm  into  notion,  discuses  follow  of  conrsc,  and  none  but 
ncToes,  and  tliosc  accliniMlcd,  caii  s;if<lv'  reside  in  the  low  j^n'ounds  on 
the  banks  of  tlio  rivers,  :i  11(1  iie;n  the  iniiiidatcd  swainps. — 'i'hc  yellow 
fever  has  seldom  been  seen,  except  in  aMohile.  In  the  hi<fh  land  regions, 
far  from  swamps,  creeks  and  stagnant  waters,  in  the  districts  of  bills, 
springs,  and  pine  forests,  tiie  coiiiilry  may  be  pronounced  salubrious, 
and  the  planters  from  the  sickly  count ly  generally  retire  to  such  places, 
to  spend  the  summer, 

Emploiimcnt  of  the  people.  Col 'on  is  the  r/i'and  staple  of  Alabama. 
The  growing  of  this  article  liari  increased  in  this  state  in  a  ratio  even 
greater,  than  that  of  the  population.  Among  the  cotton  raising  states, 
this  now  takes  a  very  high  r;ink.  Siirrar,  rice  and  tobacco  arc  also  cul- 
tivated. Many  of  the  people  about  Mobile  arc  shepherds,  and  have 
droves  of  cattle,  numbering  from  TjOO  Itj  1,0()(),  Swine  are  raised  with 
great  case,  where  they  can  be  guarded  fi(jni  their  enemies,  wolves,  panth- 
ers and  alligators.  Tlie  small  breed  of  Indian  horses,  or  Spanish  tackies, 
as  they  are  called,  are  ugly,  but  hardy  and  strong,  and  are  better  than 
the  handsomer  horses  for  service.  The  country  trade  of  the  lower  part 
of  Alabama  is  to  Moljile,  Blalcely  and  Pcnsacola.  Considerable  amounts 
of  pitch,  tar,  turpi  iunc  and  Iuiiil>er  are  exported.  The  cotton  used  to 
be  carried  to  New  Orleans.  jMobile  lias  become  a  port  of  great  export 
for  cotton.  This  counli^v,  so  near  Ilavanna,  has  great  advantages  for 
navigation.  Sea  vessels  proceed  \\\)  the  Alabama  to  a  ccnsido  able 
distance.  The  northern  par!s  of  Alabama,  situated  in  the  Tennessee 
\alley,  are  compelled  to  send  their  produce  by  a  very  circuitous  route, 
down  the  Tennessee,  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  where  it  arrives,  after  a 
passage  of  1,000  miles.  At  starting,  it  can  not  bo  more  than  five  hun- 
dred miles  from  the  i/ulf  There  is  lildc  hazard  in  assertinij,  that  the 
intelligent  and  opulent  people,  in  llie  beautiful  and  fertile  valley  of  the 
Tennessee,  will  canal  the  ridges,  that  rise  between  them  and  the  waters 
of  the  Alabama,  and  will  unite  llicmsclves  with  the  gulf  by  that  fine  river. 

Chief  Toivns.  Mobile  is  tlio  only  town  of  any  great  importance 
in  the  lower  jjart  of  the  slate.  It  lies  on  the  west  side  of  Mobile 
bay  on  an  elevated  plain,  in  latitude  oU°  10'.  It  is  situated  considerably 
above  the  overflow  of  the  river,  in  a  diy  and  pleasant  situation.  Access 
to  it  is  rendered  somewhat  dilbcult  to  vcslscIs  by  a  swampy  island  oppo- 
site the  town.  But  when  once  they  have  entered,  they  are  perfectly 
secure  from  winds,  .storms  and  enemies;  and  can  cono  directly  to 
the  town.  It  has  swampy  lauds  and  slagnant  waters  back  of  it,  and  near 
it  a  sterile  country  of  pine  woods.  From  these  causes,  though  it  had  been, 
one  of  the  earliest  settled  towns  in  the  country,  it  never  became,  undei: 


il,,j«!' 


m 


220 


M-A]!.\.M.\. 


the  .Spanish  nnd  Frnifli  iooiin'>,  more  iIitji  ;\  military  po!«t.     Under  tin* 
government  of  the  L'liiled  StiU..-,  it  lins  rfcoivcd_ci  new  impulse  of  proa 
pcrity.     But  a  few  years  nincr,  little  culton  was  niised  in  the  whole 
country  connected  witii  !M(»l>il»';  rnul  none  was  exported  directly  from 
this  place.     It  is  now  .'i  urcat  !^lii|i|)iiii.f  port  for  cotton;  and  a  lur;.ro  num- 
ber of  s(piare  riuyvd  vt  >s('ls  l;il<(!  tlicir  freiylil   from  this  city.     There  is 
no  other  port,  perhnp.s,  in  liio  United  St.ites  of  the  same  size,  that  has  so 
largo  an  amount  of  export.     After  New  Orleans  and  Charleston,  it  is  the 
largest  cotton  port  in  the  country.     It  is  enlivened,  too,  hy  the  coming 
and  dcpartini,'  of  many  steam  hoats,  that  }i!y  on  the  nr»l)lc  river  ahove  the 
city.     In  ndcMtion  to  the  <.nvat  luniiber  of  packet  schooners,  that  sail 
between  this  place  and  New  Orleans,  some  hy  the  lake,  and  some  by  the 
Mississippi,  there  is  now  a  steam  hoat  conunnnication  between  the  two 
cities,  by  the  way  of  VMsv.  Voiu  linrlrain.     Of  course,  except  during  the 
sickly  months,  it  is  a  jtlacc  of  ^uni.  activity  and  business.     Chiefly 
destroyed,  not  long  since,  by  a  (lestniftive  fnv,  it  has  been  rapidly  and 
handsomely  rebuilt  of  brick.     It  contnitis  'iOtX)  free  whites,  and  1500 
slaves  and  free  blacks;  total,  ;i,.")l)().     'I'lie  public  buildmgs  are  a  court 
house  and  a  jail;  four  churches,  one  for  lionian  Catholics,  one  for  Epis- 
copalians, one  for  I'reshyterians,  and  one  for  Methodists.     A  Roman 
Catholic  college  is  erecting  at  Spring  Hill,  six  miles  from  the  city.     It 
exported,  1831,  110,fitU)  bags  of  cotton.     It  has  the  disadvantage  of  a 
shallow  harbor,  whicli  is  moreover  growing  shallower  by  the  sand  depos- 
ited by  the  rivers.     The  most  fatal  impediment  to  the  advancement  of 
this  town  is  its  acknowledged  character  for  sickiiess.     Advantage  has 
been  taken  of  this  circumstance,  to  commence  the  town  of  Blakely,  on 
the  eastern  and  opposite  side  of  tlic  bay,  ;nid  at  ten  miles  distance.    The 
site  is  free  from  contiguous  swam]is.     It  stands  on  the  Tensa,  the  largest 
branch  of  the  Mobile,  which  yields  deeper  water,  and  has  a  harbor  of 
easier  access,  than  Mobile.     Tiie  situatitm  is  open,  high,  and  dry,  and  it 
has  cool  and  limpid  si)rings  of  water,  and  superior  advantages  of  commu- 
nication with  the  country  by  good  roads.     It  has  improved  considerably, 
and  its  founders  were  sanguine,  that  it  would  speedily  eclipse  Mobile. 
But  that  ancient  town  had,  what  is  calhnl  in  the  west  country  phrase, 
*the  start,'  and  sustains  its  pre-eminence,  as  a  commercial  depot,  not- 
withstanding its  frequent  and  destructive  ravages  from  yellow  fever  and 
fires.    Mobile  is  1033  miles  from  Washington,  and  220  S.  from  Tusca- 
loosa. 

St.  Stephens  is  on  liie  Tombigl)oo  ^'2()  from  Mobile,  and  at  the  head  of 
schooner  navigation.  It  is  a  rniisidcnlilo  village  with  stone  houses;  but 
notwithstanding  a  la\oral>lo  pir^iiioji  in  the  iuidsf  of  a  fine  country,  wears 
the  aspect  of  decay. 


ALABAMA. 


S21 


f'ahawba  lias  l)Con,  iinlil  roccnlly,  the  f)olitir.;il  mclrnpolisi,  and  is  sit- 
uated at  tlic  junction  oC  the  Cah-uvb'.i.  willi  llic  Aliibama.  County  courts 
nre  licUl  lioro,  and  iin  ollico  for  tl.o  s;il(M)riiiiblic  lands.  Tbc  circum- 
stance of  its  bavin;.' bcin  tilt;  nu'lrf)iK)bs  yiive  it  ;i  i;i{»i(l  ^jrowtli.  It  bas  a 
considcniblo  innnbiT  oC  liitiKK-dUKj  liuildinirs,  inlcimixcd,  according  to 
tlic  common  Itisbion  of  new  towns,  witb  ii  great  many  temporary  log 
buildings.  ]''K)ri(la,  Claiborne,  l)inufri(  s,  Jackson,  Collbevino,  Deinopo- 
lis,  and  Colnmbia  avo  iiici])l(ii1,  and  somt;  of  tbcni  tbrivinu  villages. 

Tuscaloosa  at  tlio  falls  of  llie  JJlaclv  Warrior  is  pormancntly  iixcd,  as 
llic  political  motro])oliH,  and  is  a  town  of  r;ipid  ftrowtb.  Its  situation 
500  miles  from  Mobile,  is  elevated,  level  and  beautifid.  It  contains  two 
lliousand  inbabitants.  Many  of  tbo  luiildinys  arc  of  brick  and  handsome. 
The  public  buildiniTH  are  a  suiterl)  stale  bouso,  a  court  bouse  and  jail; 
four  cburcbe.^,  one  for  I'rcsbytcrians,  one  for  Episcopalians,  one  for  Bap- 
lists,  and  one  for  JMetbodists.  Tliis  town  is  tbo  seat  of  tbc  new  and 
handsome  bnil(lii);js  of  Ala1)anKi  colleire.  l}(N'niliful  stone  for  buildings 
is  foimd  in  tbo  vieinily,  tind  mineral  enal  of  tbc  best  (piality  abounds  in 
the  banksof  the  Black  Warrior.  Salt  works  from  water  recently  discov- 
ered are  in  successful  ojjeral  ion.     Tuscaloosa  is  858  nules  from  Wash- 


ington. 


Montgomery,  tbc  shire  town  of  tlie  county  of  tliat  name,  is  pleasantly 
situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Alabama,  opposite  the  Big  Bend,  two 
iiundrcd  miles  cast  of  Mobile,  and  tlio  same  distance  west  of  Milledge- 
ville  in  Georgia.  The  public  bnildiuL's  arc  a  court  house  and  jail,  one 
church  for  Presbyterians,  and  one  for  Methodists;  and  a  theatre.  It  con- 
tains eight  hundred  inhabitants.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  fertile  soil,  rapidly 
settling  with  rich  planters,  chiefly  from  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  and 
promises  to  become  a  place  of  much  commercial  importance.  Washington, 
Selma  and  Claiborne,  and  other  towns  on  the  Alabama,  are  inconsidera- 
ble villages.  Thirty  miles  higher  on  the  same  river  is  Kelleysville,  a 
thriving  village.  Eaglevillc  is  ^jrincipiilly  inhabited  by  French  emigrants, 
who  calculated  to  cultivate  the  olive  and  the  vine.  Montgomery  is  859 
miles  from  Washington,  and  110  from  Tuscaloosa. 

The  beautiful  and  fertile  vaHoy  of  Teimcssec  has  a  very  different 
conformation  and  its  communications,  by  a  long  and  circuitous  route 
with  the  Mississippi  and  New  Orleans.  Tliis  valley  has  a  number  of  large 
and  flourishing  villages  of  its  own.  The  larifost  of  these  is  Huntsville, 
a  handsome  and  thriving  town,  situated  ten  or  lifiecn  miles  north  of  the 
Tennessee,  and  fifty  from  the  Muscle  Slioals.  The  country  about  it  is 
extremely  fertile.  It  is  j>rincipally  built  of  brick,  with  some  spacious, 
and  very  handsome  buildings,  a  prcsliytcrian  church,  a  baptist  and 
two  methodist   places  of  worship,  u  handsume  court  house,  and  other 


2^ 


AI.VnAMA. 


public  builtlinffs.  One  of  lliocc  lar^rn  tuul  liraiillfiil  Kprin^fs,  tliat  arc  so 
common  in  this  region,  furnisjhcs  liic  town  with  water  by  mucliincry  put 
in  motion  by  its  own  cunciit. 

Florence  is  the  noxt  tnun  in  point  of  f^i/.r-,  and  in  a  commercial  view 
more  important  than  the  other.  It  in  sitnatcd  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Tennessee,  at  the  foot  of  tiio  jMiiscIo  .Siioals.  Wjien  the  river  is  in  a 
good  stage  of  water,  steam  boats  of  tiic  largest  si/o  can  come  up  to  this 
place.  It  has  in  this  way  a  groat  and  increasing  intercourse  with  New 
Orleans.  It  has  al)out  1,'1()0  inhahitanis,  a  very  handsome  courthouse, 
and  a  hotel  in  city  style.     It  has  i\ko  a  prcsltylorian  church. 

Tuscumbia  is  the  next  place  in  size  and  importance.  It  is  situated 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river  near  a  mile  from  its  banks,  and  five  miles 
from  Florence.  It  has  several  handsome  buildings  and  athousajid  inhabi- 
tants.   Russclville  is  also  a  new  town  of  some  importance. 

A  considerable  degree  of  munificcnicc  has  l)ccn  manifested  by  the  peo-- 
pie  of  this  state,  in  their  appropriations  for  schools,  roads,  bridges,  canals 
and  other  works  of  public  utility. — Ak  appropriation  of  5  per  cent,  of 
of  the  net  proceeds  of  all  the  of  public  J.uids  in  the  state  has  been  provid- 
ed for  these  objects. — A  rail  road  has  oecn  commenced  at  Tuscumbia, 
which  is  intended  to  connect  with  some  point  of  tlic  Tennessee  above' 
Muscle  Shoals;  and  a  convention  recently  called,  to  deliberate  upon  in- 
ternal improvements  expedient  for  the  state,  have  recommended  a  rail 
real  or  canal  communication  between  the  valley  the  Tennessee,"  and 
the  navigable  waters  of  Aorth  Carolina.  General  Jackson's  military  road, 
between  lake  Ponchartrain  and  Florence  in  this  state,  runs  almost  in  a 
right  line  330  miles.  If  fully  completed,  and  kept  in  good  repair,  it  would 
be  of  the  greatest  national  utility.  There  are  two  or  three  canals  in  con- 
templation. There  is  no  point,  where  one  seems  to  be  more  called  for,, 
than  between  the  waters  of  the  Tennessee  und  Alabama. 

County  Towns.  Washington,  Centrcviljc,  Bluntsvillo,  Greenville, 
Clarksville,  Sparta,  Fayette,  Erie,  Columbia,  Bcllfonto,  Elkton,  Moul- 
ton,  Athens,  Lowndes,  Linden,  Pikeville,  Somcrville,  Pickensville,  Pike, 
Ashville,  Shelbyvillc,  Walker,  Washington,  Canton. 

Constitution  and  Laws.  They  have  the  connnon  features  of  those  of  the 
other  states.  The  legislative  body  is  styled 'the  assembly.'  The  senators 
are  elected  for  a  triennial,  and  the  reijvcscntative  for  an  annual  term. 
The  governor  serves  two  years,  and  is  eligible  only  four  years  out  of  six. 
The  judiciary  consists  of  a  supreme  and  circuit  court,  together  with  sub- 
ordinate courts  appointed  by  tJic  legislature.  The  judges  are  appointed 
by  the  legislature,  and  hold  their  oHiccs  dining  good  behavior.  All 
persons  over  twenty-one  years,  and  citizens  of  the  United  are  eIcctors» 


:4. 


MISSISSIPPI. 


This  slate  in  not,  far  from  MOO  miUs  in  avrrnp;o  lc'nf,'fW,  and  160  in 
."ivera<,'c  breadth.  'Bctwceii  HO"  aiul.'JP  N.  latitude;  and  11"  and  14°  W. 
lonpitude  from  ^V'asliiiiifton. — It  contains  28,000,000  acres.  Bounded 
on  the  North  by  'J'ennessee;  IvihI  l)y  Alabama;  South  by  the  gulf  of  Mex- 
ico and  Louisiana;  W^cat  by  Louisiana  and  the  Mississippi. 


CIVIL   DIVISIONS. 

Names  of  the  Counties. — Adams,  Natchez  City,  Amito,  Jackson,  Jef- 
ferson, Lawrence,  jNIarion,  JMonroc,  Perry,  Pike,  Warren,  Wilkinson, 
Wayne,  Yazoo,Madison. 

Population.    Free  wiiitcs  l'^, 170.     Slaves  :J"2,814.    Total  97,865. 

Face  of  the  covntnj.  Tliere  are  a  number  of  distinct  ranges  of  hills, 
of  moderate  elevation,  in  this  stale,  beside  a  singular  succession  of 
eminences,  that  show  conspicuously,  in  descending  the  Mississippi. 
Some  of  the  bases  of  these  hills  arc  washed  by  this  river.  They  are 
the  Walnut  Hills,  Grand  Gulf,  Natchez,  White  Clifls,  and  Loftus' 
Heights.  In  other  places,  they  appear  near  the  river,  or  in  the  distance, 
as  at  Petite  Gulf,  Villa  Gayosa  and  Pino  Ridge.  Two  of  these  ranges 
divide  the  state  nearly  in  its  whole  extent,  and  separate  it  into  sectional 
divisions.  In  advancing  from  the  bottoms  of  the  Mississippi,  there  is 
every  where,  at  a  greater,  or  less  distance  from  the  river,  an  appearance 
of  blufl's,  which,  when  mounted,  spread  out  into  a  kind  of  table  surface, 
^vaving  pleasantly ;  but  in  many  instances,  the  richest  table  lands  have 
precipitous  benches,  which  expose  the  land,  to  what  is  technically  called 
by  the  agriculturalists  '  washing.'  This  is  a  misfortune,  to  which  the 
richest  lands  in  this  state  arc  most  subjected. 


'-< 


if  J^'fl 


2131 


Missihsrrri, 


Pino  Uid^'n  in  a  siii'i"!  "f  rli'valiun.  It  n|>i»ri>a(}u's  uilljiii  :iniilo  ol'ilic 
MisHissijipi,  mikI  h  u  Iml'Ii  IjiII  <il'|iiii<!  I.'iihI,  like  ;iii  i^hmtl  in  iIk>  iiiidst  of 
HiirroiiiMlinLr  ridi  liuul,  tiinlicnd  with  Irii'il  wikhI-i.  U'p  know  of  no  pino 
w)  near  llir  ,Mi:^sissi|.|»i,  cxccitl  in  (mi'i  pi  ice,  ju  tlu'  cunnty  nl'CiiiK'  (lira- 
ilcnti  in  INlissoiiii,  liira  disliuKM!  of  l.*(M)  miles.  In  tin*  Mtirllicin  siMtion 
oftlio  stale,  inlialiitcdliy  llie  ( 'herokecs,  and  CIiaclawH,  tlu;  land  rises 
into  ro;.ndar  and  plensant  iindnlalinns.  Tlioscjii  is  deep,  black,  and  rich, 
prnscntini,'  in  a  sfat(j  (tf  n;ilnrn  llio  Hin/;'id:ir  appearanc*;  of  liills  c()V(!re(| 
with  lii^ii  cane  lirake. — From  their  pn-eipitoiis  (character,  these  fertile  itnd 
pleasant  hills  are  snhject  to  tin!  i;<iieral  incoiiveMiiiice  of  washint,'.  The 
country,  iidiahited,  liy  thu  riiickasaws,  noitli-wesl  of  tla;  Va/oo  is  also 
of  a  Hin-lace,  channinLfly  varii-^ifed  with  .^wcUs,  and  vallies  of  great  fer- 
Cility, and  ahonndin!,'  in  lino  s|iriiiL:s. 

The  While  Clill's  are  just  helow  Catliaiinc'd  Creek.— Loflns'  Ileiirfits 
are  a  few  miles  h)\vcr  on  the  river.  They  nro  ir>()  feet  hioh.  In  Uuj 
strata  of  this  hill  nro  seen  tlio  last  stones,  that  art;  discovered  on  descend 
ing  the  Mississip]ii.  'i'hey  are  visllile  only  in  low  sfa<,fos  of  water. 
They  arc  of  the  class,  commonly  called  hiraht,  cementcul  with  pr>l»l)lo3 
ami  other  matters  into  amass,  aitparenlly  of  recent  formation.  There  i^ 
probably,  no  slate  in  the  union,  and  few  coiiiilries  in  the  world  of  a  more 
pleasantly  diversified  siirfice,  more  happily  distributed  into  hills  ami 
vallies,  than  the  surface  of  this  state. 

Rivers.  The  Mississippi  washes  the  western  shore  of  this  state  for  a 
distance,  followin/?  its  meandeis  of  nearly  smcn  hundred  miles.  The 
right  lino  of  the  Mississippi  shore  is  less  than  lialf  that  dislancc.  But 
the  river  is  here  remarkably  circuifons,  often  curving  round  seven  or 
eight  leagues,  and  almost  returnini:  back  on  its  course.  The  greater 
part  of  this  long  line  of  river  coast,  nnforlunately,  is  inundated  swamp, 
very  thinly  iidia])ited,  except  by  wood  cutlers  for  llie  steam  boats,  and 
seldom  seen  by  any  oilier,  than  people  travelling  on  the  river.  There  is 
here  and  there  a  position  so  liiii]i,as  to  bo  capable  of  being  occupied,  as 
a  plantation.  But  these  uncunuaon  elevations  soon  slo])o  back  to  the 
cypress  swamps. 

The  Yazoo  is  the  most  cons.derablo  river,  Avhosn  course  is  wliolly  in 
this  slate.  It  rises  in  Ihc  Chickasaw  conalry,  in  latitude  III" 'JS',  near 
the  limits  of  Tennessee,  and  its  head  waler.^  almost  conunuiiicate  wilh 
those  of  Toiiibigbee.  From  it ?<  so;irce  il  runs  a  Jioilh-west  course,  re 
ceiving  the  IJusha  Yalo,  the  'i'allahatchee,  Lap[)alaI)a,]5ull;ilo Creek,  and 
a  number  of  less  considerable  stre"ms,  and  by  a  luonlh  100  yards  wide, 
falls  into  the  Mississi]»pi,  twelve  miles  above  lh<.'  AVahuit  Iiills.  Its  course 
is  through  a  high,  ploasai.i  and  salubiiou.s  country,  chiefly  however, 


MTMI<»«IPPr. 


996' 


Haimod  nml  inliuliifrd  liv  Tii(1i;iny.     Tlifv  inlnl.il  tlio  country.  l>y  the 
roiirne  of  tlir  river  ir»()  miles  frcMii  if«> motif li.     It  is  yorurally  honfablo  by 
Inrpe  boats  lil'ty  miles;  nud  in  tlu;  lii</!irT  •.•\:\f!VH  of  iIk;  water,  to  tlio  Bu- 
}(|i;j  Yiilo,  flie  iiii^-i<iii;iry  >l.ili<»ii.     'I'licri'  is  Hut' liiiil«liii<f  sloiin   on  tliiH 
river,  ill  positions  lavoraliN;   for  convcyanco  lo  .\i;w  Orleans,  Ijcing  tho 
nearest  to  that  city  of  any  on  tho  waters  of  the;  iMissis.-ippi.    It  is  '  backed 
up,'  ns  tliei)hraHO  ifi,  by  the  Mississippi,  in  lii;,'h  Hta/jes  of  water,  or  inun- 
dated by  its  own  rise  for  a  number  of  miles  from  its  mouth.     Twelve 
miles  above  its  mouth  are  the  Ya/oo  hills,  .-ind  four  miles  higher  tho  sito 
of  fort  St.  Peter,  wIumc  was  an  ancient  I'leiich  nettlr'iiieiit,  deatroycd 
in  17iiU,  by  the  Yazoo  Indian?,  a  nation,  wliich  in  itsturn,  has  long  since 
since  been  extinct.     On  this  river  and  iIk;  country  which  it  waters,  was 
the  scene  of  the  famous  Yazoo  pp;>cidation,  which  will  be  lon<r  and  bit- 
terly remembered  by  certain  uiif)rtunato  .'^peculators;  and  forgotten,  ns 
soon  ns  may,  be  by  certain  corporate  bodies,  concerned  in  the  sale.     Big 
Black,  or  Lousa  C'hitto,'I()  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  enters  the  Mississippi, 
just  above  the  Grand  (iiilf.     Measuring  its  meanders,  it  h;isa  course  of 
two  hundred  miles.     It  rises  between  the  head  waters  of  the  Yazoo  and 
Pearl  rivers,  and  interlocks  with  the  boatiible  waters  of  tho  latter  stream. 
It  is  navigable,  in  moderate  stages  ol  the  water,  fifty  miles. — The  hills  of 
this  river  approach  near  the  Mississipjii,     At  some  distance  up  this  river, 
where  the  high  lands  appear  upon  both  sides,  some  New  England  adven- 
turers, headed  by  General  Putnam,  ."elected  a  place  for  a  town.    It  waa 
in  1773,  when  this  region  was  supposed  to  appertain  to  West  Florida. 
The  soil  is  fine  and  the  Kituation  eligible.     Tlicre  is  stone  for  building; 
and  the  place  seems  lo  have  been  judiciously  selected.     Ilomochitto  is  a 
Inrge  stream,  having  half  tho  comparative  length  of  Big  Black.     It  me- 
anders in  a  south-west  course  to  tho  Mississippi  it  is  formed  by   two 
principal  forks,     A  few  miles,  before  it  enters  tho  Mississippi,  it  passes 
through  a  lake.     It  traverses  a  fertile  and  well  settled  country  of  opulent 
planters.     Like  the  Yrzoo,  it  is  inundated  for  a  long  distance  above  its 
mouth. 

Bayou  Pierre,  Cole's  Creek,  Fairchild'H  Creek,  and  St.  Catharine's 
Creek  enters  the  Mississppi  in  succession  below  Big  Black.  They  have 
short  courses,  but  generally  a  fine  soil  adjacent  to  their  waters.  On 
Bayou  Pierre  is  the  important  settlement  and  village  of  Gibson  Port. 
Buffalo  Creek  enters  the  Mississipi)i  a  little  above  the  heights  of  fort 
Adams.  Here  at  Loftus'  Heights,  commences  a  chain  of  hills,  which 
stretches  north-eastwardly  from  the  Mississippi,  and  separates  the  waters 
of  Bogue  Chitto  and  Amite  from  those  of  Ilomochillo  and  Buffalo.  On 
the  southern  side  of  these  ridges,  the  waters  flow  into  tho  Amite  and  lako 
Ponchartrain,  and  on  the  northern  into  tiie  Mississipiii. 


^/ 


^. 


.   III. 


4'.^ 


^^ 


226 


MISSISSIPPI. 


H 
'A 


The  Amite  mcandors  from  i(H  .source  in  llicso  liills  fo  the  Ibberville,  or 
Bayou  Manshac,  au  cdlux  of  tlio  Mississippi.  The  Amite  unites  with 
this  Bayou  forty  miles  above- lake  Manrcpas.  The  Amite  traverses  a 
pleasant,  produclive,  and  well  sutt-lecl  country,  generally  timbered  with 
hard  woods  and  liavino'  fine  springs. 

Pearl  river  is  next  to  the  Yiizoo,  the  most  important  river,  that  has  its 
whole  course  in  this  slate.  It  vises  almost  in  the  ceritre  of  the  state,  be- 
tween the  two  parallel  ranges  of  hills,  that  divide  it  into  sections.  A 
number  of  branches  unite  to  form  the  main  river,  which  is  afterwards  in- 
creased by  the  Chunka,  and  other  streams.  It  passes  by  Monticcllo  and 
Jackson,  and  through  a  country  generally  fertile,  healthy  and  pleasant 
until  it  touches  the  easlern  boundary  of  Louisiana,  after  which  it  receives 
the  Bogue  Lousa  and  Bogue  Chitlo,  and  thence,  running  between  this 
state  and  Louisiana,  it  enters  the  rigolcts  between  lake  Ponchartrain  and 
Borgne.  The  lands  watered  are  for  the  most  part  fertile,  though  it 
sometimes  traverses  the  sterile  region  of  i)ine  woods.  Some  legislative 
efforts  Jiave  been  made,  to  improve  the  navigation  of  this  stream,  which 
derives  importance,  from  its  being  one  of  the  chief  points  of  communica- 
tion between  this  state,  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Pascagoula  lises 
in  latitude  33°,  and  preserves  a  course  parallel  to  the  Tombigbee.  It  has 
a  length  of  250  miles.— Vessels  of  considerable  draught  ascend  it  to  Leaf 
River.  It  receives  in  its  course  a  great  number  of  tributary  streams,  of 
which  Chickasaw,  Leaf,  Dog  and  Tacothaml)a  are  the  principal.  It  has 
some  fertile  alluvions  and  hammock  land?,  but  traverses,  for  the  most  part 
a  region  of  pine  country,  sterile,  but  well  watered,  healthy,  and  afford- 
ing in  its  timber,  and  its  conveniences  for  navigation,  a  compensation 
for  its  want  of  fertility.  At  its  mouth,  it  broadens  into  an  open  bay,  on 
which,  at  the  town  of  its  own  name,  is  a  retreat  of  resort  for  the  inhab' 
itants  of  New  Orleans,  during  the  sickly  months. 

Islands.  Those  of  the  Mississippi  are  low  and  inundated.  The 
islands  in  the  gulf,  within  six  leagues  of  the  front  of  the  state,  belong  to 
it.  They  arc  eight,  or  nine  in  number,  of  which  Ship  and  Horn  islands 
are  the  chief. — They  are  generally  sterile  and  covered  with  pines  and 
grass. 

Climate.  This  state,  excepting  a  small  tract,  which  fronts  upon  the 
gulf,  constitutes  a  belt  lying  between  the  wheat  and  the  sugar  cane  regions, 
in  other  words  the  climate  appropriate  to  cotton.  This  is  the  region, 
where,  in  the  humid  places,  the  long  moss  is  seen  attaching  itself  to  the 
tree.  The  latanier,  or  palmetto,  in  the  brightness  of  its  winter  verdure, 
gives  tropical  features  to  the  landscape. — Alligators  are  seen  in  the  stag- 
nant waters.  The  family  of  laurels  begins  to  be  more  numerous;  and 
the  Laurel  Magnolia  shows  itself  among  them.    Southern  shrubs  and 


Mississipn. 


227 


and 
and 


flowers  to  one,  coming  from  Ihe  norlli,  present  the  aspect  of  a  new  cli- 
mate. It  is  unfortunate  for  lliis  state,  tluit  its  western  front,  bordering  on 
the  Mississippi,  is  so  much  exposed  to  inundation;  and  that  from  the 
same  circumstance  most  of  tlic  streams,  that  enter  the  Mississippi,  are 
uninhabitable  for  some  distance  from  their  moiitii.  At  present  in  de- 
scending the  river,  the  traveller  looks  in  vain,  along  this  very  extended 
front,  for  the  palpable  evidence  of  the  opulence  for  which  this  state  is  so 
deservedly  celebrated.  He  sees  a  few  siiiguhir  blufls  rising  in  succes- 
sion, sometimes  at  long  intervals,  from  a  dreary  wilderness  of  inundated 
swamp.  The  river  on  this  front,  having  much  higher  inundations,  than 
lower  down,  it  may  be  long,  before  the  people  here  will  leve6  the  rich 
alluvions,  as  they  have  done  in  tl;e  state  below.  But  when  it  is  done, 
an  immense  body  of  the  most  fertile  soil  will  Ije  redeemed  from  inunda- 
tion; and  the  state  will  gain  as  much  in  salubrity,  as  in  opulence.  Even 
as  it  is,  the  greater  portion  of  the  surface  of  the  state  is  waving  hills,  and 
tlie^whole  amount  of  inundated  lands  is  less,  than  in  either  of  the  other 
southern  divisions  of  this  valley.  *  '■ 

Compared  with  Louisiana,  i's  waters  have  the  same  fishes,  and  in  win- 
ter and  spring  the  same  varieties  of  Avatcr  fowls,  and  birds  of  beautiful 
plumage  and  song;  and  ils  forcsis  and  })rairies,  for  tliis  state  too,  has  its 
prairies,  the  same  varielies  of  trees  and  flowering  shrubs  and  plants, 
with  very  few  exceptions,  as  that  stale,  and  they  will  be  described  un- 
der the  head  of  that  stale.  In  health  it  has  decidedly  the  advantage. 
In  that  state,  most  of  the  planters  cultivate  the  deep  river  and  bayou  allu- 
vions, and  stagnant  waters  are  more  abundant.  In  this  state,  where  the 
planters  are  fixed  remote  from  stagnant  waters,  which  in  such  a  southern 
climate,  must  always  be  more  or  less  destructive  to  hoalth,  and  have  ac- 
cess to  pure  spring  water,  there  is,  perhaps,  no  part  of  the  United  States, 
where  the  inhabitants  enjoy  better  health.  The  summers,  indeed,  are 
long,  and  the  heat  sustained,  and  sometimes  intense;  and  during  the  last 
of  summer  and  first  of  autumn,  the  people  in  the  healthy  districts  are 
subject  to  bilious  attacks,  sometimes  slight,  and  sometimes  severe.  But 
in  return,  they  are  in  a  great  measure  free  from  pulmonary  and  catarrhal 
affections,  which  are  so  common  and  ftital  in  the  more  northern  regions 
of  the  United  States.  From  the  centre  of  this  state  to  its  southern  front, 
its  climate  compares  pretty  accurately  with  that  of  south  Alabama, 
Georgia,  the  northern  belt  of  Florida,  and  Louisiana.  From  October  to 
June,  no  clhnate  can  be  more  delightful.  It  has,  indeed,  in  winter  a 
marked  advantage  over  that  of  the  regions  just  mentioned.  It  is  some- 
what less  subject  to  the  frequent  and  drenching  rains  of  Florida  and  Lou- 
isiana. The  people  in  gei:ieval  are  healthy,  and  in  travelling  through  the 
state,  we  see  countcnanC*»  tAnntjd  and  browned  by  frequent  exposure 


WfJ 


t 


4- 


228 


3IISSISSIPPIi 


to  a  soullicin  sunj  but  at  the  aaiiic  liuio  imlic:Uiiig  vigorous  and  clieerfiri 
hcnldi.  V. 

Indians.     The  piincip:\l  frilu's  in  lliis  stalo  Jiro  the  Cliactaws  and 
Cliickasaws.     The  iiuiuIkis  of  the  roniier  tribe  are  rated  at  ii(),000,  and 
the  latter  at  nearly   1,001).     'I'hcy  ;ire  ;il  iircsciit  in  a  senii-savage  state, 
and  exhibit  tlie  intcrt'sliiiif  fiiicckicle  of  a  pi-oplo,  inlerinodiate  between 
the  liuntcr's  and  tlie  civil  zed  state.     A  curious  compound  of  character 
results  from  this  order  of  thiniiti.     Mt  si  of  their  ancient  instincts  and 
habits  may  still  be  traced  amidst  the  <  lianues,  inlrochieed  by  agriculture 
and  municipal  rr/julatiouis.     Many  of  them  have  /^jood  houses,  slaves, 
enclosures  and  cattle.     They  Iiave  plou^^hs,  looms  and  blacksnntlis'  shops, 
in  operation,  and  are  be^^inninif  to  acijuaint  themselves  with  the  coarser 
mechanic  arts.     'J'liey  have  also  coinniencod  the  adoption  of  our  laws 
and  modes  of  judicature.     An   Indian  denominated  sipiire  and  judge, 
becomes  at  once  an  important  ])ersona;4e,  and  tlieso  titles  answer  instead 
©f  a  cocked  hat,  a  red  coat  and  a  medal.     The  dillerent  religious  denom- 
inations in  the  Uiiitt^l  Slates  have  made  a  great  and  persevering  ctFort  to 
convey  to  them  the  blest^ings  of  education  and  Ohrislianity.     The  princi- 
pal missionary  station,  nnder  the  patronage  of  the  American  board  for 
foreign  missions,  in  tins  st;!te  is  at  I'.lliot,  on  the  Valo  liusha  creek,  40 
miles  t.''^ovc  its  junction  v.ilh  the  Ya/oo,  and  115  from  the  Wahiut  Hills 
en  the  Mississippi.     There  are  a  miiuber  cf  subordinate  stations  con- 
nected with  this  principal  one.     I'^acli  station  constitutes  a  kind  of  reli- 
gious lirmily  Avithin  itself,  and  lias  its  minister,  instructors,  male  and 
fcmale,  its  farmer,  or  agiicidtural  overseer,  and  its  chief  arti/.ans.     They 
are  all  supposed  to  lie  religious  characters.     Schools  for  the  reception  of 
Indian  pupils  constitute  a  main  p;nt  of  lluMr  plan,  and  on  the  wisest  pre- 
mises, tliey  calculate,   by  showing  in  their  own  society  and  example 
tlie  influence  of  christian  order  ami  discipline,  ;uid  by  sedulous  instruc- 
tion of  children,  to  connnunicate  education  and  the  rudiments  of  Chris" 
tianity  at  the  same  time,  by  prec(-pl.  and  example;  and  by  showing  in 
their  own  well  cultivated  lielils  the  best  modes  of  agriculture,  and  by 
training  their  youthful  pupils  in  the  labors  of  the  field,  at  once  to  inspire 
tliem  with  the  requisite  patience,  industry  and  love  of  agriculture,  to 
qualify  tliem  for  conunencing  a  new  and  an  agricultural  life.     They 
witness  a  growing  alteniiou  of  tlie  Indians  to  the  nnmicipal  and  christiaii 
modes  of  life  in  the  increased  nnmlier  of  their  pupils,  which,  from  the 
last  reports,  appear  to  be  very  considerable,     Tliey  have  large  fields 
good  honses,  mechanic  shops,  regulai'  worship;  and  the  praises  of  God 
and  tlie  Redeemer,  in  the  sweet  and  cultivated  strains  of  church  music, 
resound  in  these  ancient  forests,  instead  of  the  war  and  death  song  of 
the  savages,    Tiic  i)lau  and  the  whole  system  arc  entirely  novel  in  the 


i 


•?. 


Mississii»ri. 


229 


oniiitls  of  fclirislian  exertion.  It  is  a  kind  of  protcstant  monastic  cstab- 
lislitMont,  with  modificationH  suitiKl  to  tlic  more  practical  views  of  that 
church,  and  constitutes  a  most  interesting  and  striking  feature  in  the 
missionary  exertions  of  the  present  day. — All  good  minds  must  be  dis- 
posed to  wish  them  every  degree  of  success.  They  have  a  fine  country, 
forlilo  soil,  hills,  springs,  prairies,  cop.ses,  beautiful  scenery,  and  a  mild 
climate,  which  has  hillieito  proved  as  salubrious,  as  they  could  have 
anticipated;  and  their  prospects  for  the  future  are  encouraging.  They 
arc  to  a  certain  degree  patronised,  and  aided  by  the  government  of  the 
United  States. 

Ai^rhmUure  and  pttrsvUs  of  the  prnph:  All  the  kinds  of  grains, 
fruits  aud  vegetables,  that  can  be  cultivated  in  Alabama,  can  also  be 
grown  here.  The  sugar  cane  has  hitherto  been  attempted  only  on  its 
southern  frontier.  The  sweet  orange  is  raised  on  the  lower  waters  of 
rascagoula  and  Pearl  rivers.  Tlie  live  oak,  too,  is  only  seen  in  this  part 
of  the  state.  In  the  middle  regions,  iigs,  grapes  of  all  sorts,  tobacco, 
maize,  sweet  potatoes,  rice,  indigo  scpuishes,  melons,  plums,  -peaches 
and  various  other  vegetables  aiul  fruits  come  to  full  perfection.  The  castor 
bean,  or  Palma  (>hristi,  and  the  bonne  plant  are  sometimes  raised.  In 
the  high  and  midland  regions,  it  h  aflirnied,  that  apples  and  pears  arrive 
at  tolerable  perfection.  This  state,  being  on  the  southern  verge  of  the 
medial  climate,  is  a  country,  where  a  great  variety  of  the  articles  of  the 
north  and  the  south  may  be  expected  to  c<mie  to  m.aturity. 

Cotton  is  the  grand  staple,  and  grows  in  i)erfection  in  all  parts  of  the 
state.  It  is,  perhaps,  too  exclusively  the  object  of  thought,  attention 
,  nd  cultivation.  In  the  early  part  of  the  season  the  conversation  turns 
npon  the  point,  how  the  crop  stands;  that  is,  whether  it  has  germinated, 
and  remained  in  a  healthy  and  vigorous  state?  The  next  object  of  anxi- 
ety is,  whether  it  takes,  as  the  phrase  is, '  the  rot;'  then  about  the  favora- 
bleness  of  the  season  for  picking;  tiien  the  state  of  the  gins,  and  the 
amount  bailed. — The  last  and  most  interesting  of  all  is  the  price,  it  is 
likely  to  bear.  In  the  halcyon  days,  when  cotton  brought  28  and  30 
cents  per  pound,  there  were  planters,  who  had  thirty  and  forty  tliousand 
dollars  a  year,  as  the  income  of  their  crop.  In  tiiose  times  some  of  the 
j»lanter3  secured  independent  fortunes,  aud  many  of  tliem  became  afflu- 
ent. Even  at  tlic  present  very  reduced  ])rices,  no  planters  in  the  United 
States  have  better  incomes,  in  proportion  to  their  capital  and  hands,  than 
those  of  this  state.  The  number  of  working  hands  on  a  plantation  varies 
from  20  to  200.  It  is  but  recently,  that  the  inhabitants  have  been  much 
in  habits  of  travelling  out  of  of  their  own  state.  They  sere  for  the  most 
l)art  a  plain,  simi)le,  industrious,  hospitable  and  respectable  people, 
accustomed  to  a  retired  lile  in  the  interior  of  tlie  country.    They  are 


*•»'■ 


11 


"4*^- 


K 


230 


:.* : 


Missimsippi. 


generally,  and  honorably,  with  some  few  exceptions,  kind  and  indulgent 
masters  to  their  slaves.  A  few,  who  have  acquired  fortunes  without 
much  previous  education,  or  refinement,  and  measuring  their  own  know- 
ledge, acquirements  and  importance  only  by  their  intercourse  with  their 
slaves,  arc  astonished,  when  they  go  abroad  to  find,  that  there  are  other 
requisites,  in  order  to  be  sought  afler,  and  introduced  to  the  best  circles 
than  the  possession  of  money  and  slaves. 

Attention  to  schooh,  reliction,  Sfc.  Tlie  same  appropriations  for  pub- 
lic works  and  for  education  are  made  in  this  state,  as  in  Alabama. 
The  benefits  of  a  common  school  education  are  not  so  extensively  enjoyed 
in  any  of  the  southern  states  of  this  valley,  as  could  be  wished.  The 
whole  business  is  generally  managed  by  subscription,  and  voluntary 
association.  Where  this  is  the  case,  and  wlierc  there  is  no  direct  inter- 
ference of  the  legislature,  to  compel  the  people  to  educate  their  children, 
many  of  the  recKlcss  and  inconsiderate  will  allow  them  to  grow  up  with 
out  any  education.  There  are  ample  public  funds  for  the  endowment  of 
schools;  and  there  is  a  growing  senpo  of  the  importance  of  schools  on  the 
public  mind.  A  seminary,  entitled  '  Jeflorson  college,'  is  incorporated  at 
Washington  near  Natchez,  It  ranks  with  the  academics  of  the  Atlantic 
country.  Another  institution,  called  a  college,  is  incorporated  at  Shield- 
borough,  and  there  are  flourishing  public  schools  at  Natchez,  Wood- 
ville  and  Monticcllo. 

Constitution.   In  every  principal  feature  the  same,  as  that  of  Alabama. 

Chief  Towns.  Monticello,  the  caj)ital  of  Lawrence  county,  and  re- 
cently of  the  state,  is  a  pleasant  and  flourishing  village  on  the  west  bank 
of  Pearl  river.  Gibson  Port,  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  Bayou  Pierre, 
is  situated  in  the  centre  of  a  rich  country,  and  is  a  village  of  considera- 
ble importance.  Greenville,  Woodvillo  and  Winchester  are  flourishing 
villages.  Shieldsborough  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  bay  of  St. 
Louis.  It  is  swept  by  the  cool  breezes  of  the  gulf,  and,  tliough  it  has 
not  always  been  exempt  from  the  ravages  of  yellow  fever,  is  a  famed 
resort  for  the  inhabitants  of  New  Orleans,  during  the  sickly  months. 

Jackson,  near  the  head  of  Pearl  river,  and  on  a  site  lately  acquired 
from  the  Chactaw  Indians,  has  been  selected,  as  the  permanent  seat  of 
government  for  tlie  state.  It  is  a  central,  healthy  and  pleasant  position, 
and  the  circumstance  of  its  being  the  political  metropolis,  will  soon 
cause  it  to  become  a  place  of  importance. 

Warrenton,  below  the  Walnut  Ilills,  is  a  considerable  village  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  from  which  arc  exported  large  quantities  of 
cotton.  Vick^urgh,  just  below  the  commencement  of  the  Walnut  Hills, 
is  one  of  the  many  towns  in  the  western  country,  which  have  been  the 
growth  of  but  a  few  years.    It  is  not  more  than  five,  or  si.\  years,  old, 


Mississipn. 


231 


and  it  is  now  a  considerable  village,  with  a  number  of  stores,  lawyers 
and  physicians.  It  has  a  printing];  press  and  a  journal.  Many  boats 
are  always  lying  in  the  harbor,  and  it  sends  off  a  groat  amount  of  cotton. 
Steam  boats  rcgidarly  ply  between  tlii.s  place  and  New  Orleans.  It  is  a 
most  singular  position  for  a  town,  on  tlio  shelving  declivity  of  high  hills, 
and  the  houses  are  scattered  in  groups  on  the  terraces.  ^   V 

Natchez  is  by  far  the  largest  town  in  the  state,  and  is  incorporated  as  a 
city.    It  is  romantically  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  on 
a  very  high  bluft',  280  miles  above  New  Orleans.     The  river  business  is 
transacted  at  the  division  of  the  town  which  is  called  'under  the  hill,'  a 
repulsive  place,  and  unhappily,  but  too  often  the  resort  of  all  that  is  vile, 
from  the  upper  and  lower  country.    Great  numbers  of  boats  are  always 
lying  here,  and  the  place  is  Mlled  with  boatmen,  mulattos,  houses  of  ill 
fame,  and  their  wretched  tenants,  in  short,  the  refuse  of  the  human  race. 
There  arc,  however,  very  respectable  merchants  resident  'under  the  hill.' 
The  upper  town  is  situatcil  on  the  summit  of  a  bluff,  300  feet  above  the 
common  level  of  the  river,  from  which  there  is  a  prospect  of  the  cultivat- 
ed margin  of  the  Mississippi  in  Concordia,  on  the  opposite  shore;  and 
the  eye  traverses  the  boundless  and  level  surfaces  of  the  cypress  swamps 
beyond.    On  the  eastern  side,  the  country  is  waving,  rich  and  beautiful; 
the  eminences  presenting  open  woods  covered  with  grape  vines,  and  here 
and  tlierc  neat  country  houses.    The  town  itself  is  quiet;  the  streets 
Iroad;  some  of  the  public  buildings  handsome;  and  the  whole  has  the 
appearance  of  comfort  and  opulence.      It  is  the  principal  town  in  tliis 
region  for  the  shipment  of  cotton,  with  bales  of  which,  at  the  proper 
season  of  the  year,  the  streets  are  almost  barricaded.      Some  opulent 
planters  reside  here,  and  there  is  a  respectable  and  polished  society.— 
The  physicians  and  lawyers  are  distinguished  in  their  profession,  and 
there  is  no  inconsiderable  attention  to  literature.      A  very  nu'nerous 
population  from  the  contiguous  country  makes  its  purchases  here,  and 
it  is  a  place  of    great  trade  for  its  size.        The  people  are  noted 
for  opulence  and  hospitality.     From  the  heights  in  this  city  they  show 
you  the  site  of  Fort  Rosalie,  the  scene  of  the  wild,  but  splendid  and  af- 
fecting romance  of   Attala.      There  is  a  Presbyterian,  an  Episcopal,  a 
Roman  Catholic,  a  Baptist,  and  Methodist  church  here,  and  the  people 
show  a  great,  and  for  the  southern  country,  an  uncommon  attention  to 
the  ordinances  of  worship  and  religion.      The  court  house  makes  a  re- 
spectable  appearance.       Notwithstanding  the    cleanliness,  elevation, 
and  apparent  purity    of  the  atmosphere  of  this  town,  it  has  been  often 
visited  with  yellow  fever.        To  this  circumstance  it  is  undoubtedly 
owing,  that  its  population  does  not  advance,  as  might  be  expected,  from 
its  beautiful  position.    It  contains  not  far  from  3,000  inhabitants. — 


1^. 


232 


MiR.sisRiprr. 


vt 


Steam  boats  are  constantly  coming  1  -  this  place,  or  departing  from  it 
and  the  arriving  and  departing  gnn  is  heard  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and- 
of  the  night;  and  as  they  are  scon  swooping  along  the  majestic  river 
they  add  greatly  tc  the  grandeur  and  interest  of  the  scenery  of  this  town. 

Washington  is  a  pleasant  and  healthy  village  five  miles  in  the  interior 
from  Natchez,  and  is  a  resort  as  a  place  of  retirement  from  that  town 
when  sickly.  It  is  the  seat  of  Jefferson  college,  which  is  an  institution 
with  considerable  endowments,  that  under  its  present  respectable  teach- 
ers, promises  to  become  a  seminary  of  importance. 

History.  Greater  part  of  this  state  originally  was  occupied  by  the 
Chactaws  and  other  Indians.  Their  title  has  been  chiefly  extinguished 
by  purchased  cessions  of  lands.  The  state,  by  a  recent  enactment,  has 
extended  its  political  jurisdiction  over  them,  and  declared  them  subject 
to  its  laws. 

Mississippi  was  admitted  into  the  union  in  1817.  By  a  recent  enact- 
ment it  has  abolished  a  former  law,  which  prohibited  the  location  of  a 
Branch  Bank  of  the  United  States  in  this  State.  Near  Natchez  were 
the  central  villages  of  the  interesting  nation  of  Natchez  Indians,  now 
extinct.  Question  about  the  territorial  right  to  this  region  was  long  the 
apple  of  discord  between  the  Spanish  and  the  French,  the  Spanish  and 
English,  and  between  the  government  of  the  former,  and  that  of  tho 
United  States.    Alabama  was  recently  taken  from  it. 


m 


# 


h-: 


,vf''ij. 


^ifij^w 


',4, 


S 


*•  ■  (. 


,* 


.LOUISIANA, 


Length,  240  milos.  Breadth,  210,  containing  48,220  square  miles. 
Between  29°  and  33°  30'  N.  latitude,  and  12°  and  17°  3'  W.  longitude. 
Bounded  east  by  Mississippi  state,  and  the  Gulf  of  INIcxico,  and  by  the 
river  Mississippi  from  31°  to  33°,  and  tlionco  by  the  parallel  of  31°  to 
PearJ  river;  thence  by  that  stream  to  its  mouth;  South  by  the  gulf  of 
Mexico;  West  by  the  river  Sabine,  which  separates  it  from  the  Mexican 
States,  and  following  that  river  to  the  parallel  of  32°,  thence  due  North 
to  33°,  tliencc  due  east  to  the  Mississippi. 


'    J,-  CIVIL   DIVISIONS.  *■ 

Names  of  the  Parishes.  Ascension,  (parish,)  Assumption,  (do.) 
Avoyelles,  (do.)  Baton  Rouge,  (cast,)  (do.)  Baton  llouge,  (west,)  (do.) 
Claiborne,  (do.)  Concordia,  (do.)  Ibbcrville,  (do.)  Lafourche,  (interior,) 
(do.)  Natchitoches,  New  Orleans,  (city,)  Now  Orleans,  (parish.)  Cata- 
houla, (do.)  Opelousas,  (county,)  Plaqucmine,  (parish,)  Point  Coupee, 
(county,)  Rapides,  (parisli,)  St.  Bernard,  (do.)  St.  Charles,  (do.)  St. 
Helena,  (do.)  St.  James,  (do.)  St.  John  Baptiste,  (do.)  St.  Tammany, 
(do.)  Washington,  fdp.)  Washita,  (do.) 

Population,  by  the  census  of  1830.     Free  whites,  89,191.     Slaves, 
109,631.     Total,  21.5,575.     The  most  populous  parts  of  the  state,  after*  W 
New  Orleans,  are  the  coast,  Feliciana,  Attakpasas,  and  Opelousas,  and 
the  Parish  of  Rapides,  and  Natchitoches. 

In  1785,  what  is  now  the  state  of  Louisiana,  contained,  under  tlie 

Spanish  government,  27,283  inhabitants.     In  1810,  it  being  then  the 

Territory  of  Orleans,  under  the  American  government,  it  contained 

75,556,  of  which  34,060  were  slaved.     In  1820,  153,407.     This  shows 

a  very  rapid  increase  in  population.     It  nearly  tripled  in  17  years,  pre- 

ceeding  1810.     It  more  than  doubled  ])ctwecn  1810  and  1820.     Extra- 

ordinary  as  this  ratio  of  increase  is,  it  is  by  no  means  in  proportion  to,  -" 

that  of  many  other  of  the  western  stales.  -?:  *- 

30 


V 


r- 


.7*  ■ 


*^'.. 


234 


LOUISIANA. 


f. 


4*  No  state  in  llif!  union  Ims  a /^froalcr  hotly  of  first  rate  land;  thougli 
nine  tenths  of  the  f,'no(l  alUivi;iI  tlistrict,  from  tlic  delta  of  the  Mississippi 
to  the  month  of  Rod  llivcr,  is  either  annually  overflowed,  or  perpetually 
covered  with  sIkiIIdw  lakes  forever  steaming  miasm  into  the  atmosphere. 
Were  tlic  same  l;ibor  and  expense,  which  have  been  bestowed  in  digging 
for  gold  in  the  (ifold  districts  of  the  South,  applied  in  draining  and  canal- 
ling  this  vast  dismal  and  noxious  swamp,  the  avails  of  reclaimed  sugar 
and  rice  lands,  would  not  only  yield  a  Jiundred  times  the  profit,  but  New 
Orleans  would  become  as  healthy  as  any  other  town  in  the  same  latitude, 
and  the  centre  of  a  jnore  productive  agriculture^^nd  possessing  easier 
water  communications  with  it,  than  any  other  city  in  tlie  world. 

The  question,  why  the  state,  which  has  waste  lands,  as  fertile  as  any  in 
the  western  country,  an  agriculture  unquestionably  the  richest,  and  un- 
rivalled jidvantages  of  access  to  the  sea,  and  of  internal  water  communi- 
cations, docs  not  people  faster,  may  be  answered  by  the  assignment  of 
various  causes.  Tlie  country  has  universally,  abroad,  the  reputation  of 
being  sickly,  by  impressions  founded  on  exaggerated  reports,  not  at  all 
warranted  by  facts.  New  Orleans  has  been  repeatedly  desolated,  it  is 
true,  by  the  yellow  fever;  and  public  opinion  has,  probably,  identified 
the  sickliness  of  the  whole  country  with  that  of  that  city.  It  cannot  be 
denied,  that  there  are  parts  of  this  state  which  arc  intrinsically  sickly; 
and  that  there  is  much  land,  and  that  of  the  richest  character,  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  immense  marshes,  lakes,  and  stagnant  waters,  tho 
contiguity  of  which  must  necessarily  be  noxious  to  health.  Neitlier  can 
it  be  denied,  that  a  country  which  has  such  an  undue  proportion  of  slaves 
is  unfavorably  situated  for  advancing  in  population.  Another  impedi- 
ment may  be  found  in  the  difficulty  of  adjusting  the  numerous  and  con- 
flicting land  claims.  It  has  thus  happened,  that  neither  the  claimants, 
nor  congress  could  bring  them  into  market  for  want  of  adjustments — 
Large  claims  to  the  finest  portions  of  landlSl  tlie  state  have  not  yet  been 
adjudicated  by  Congress ;  and  purchasers  have  not  felt  secure  in  the  titles 
of  the  claimants.  A  country,  too,  settled  by  opulent  planters,  is  unfa- 
vorably situated  for  increase  in  population.  It  is  discouraging  to  a  free- 
holder, with  his  naked  hands,  or  a  small  force,  to  sit  down  beside  a  planter 
with  an  hundred  working  hands.  It  is  natural,  that  the  'petit  paysan* 
should  imagine  that  he  sees  contempt  in  the  deportment  of  his  wealthy 
neighbor  towards  him.  But  notwithstanding  all  these  adverse  circum- 
stances, this  state  is  making  steady  advances  in  population. 

Face  of  the  country,  soil,  Sfc.  Three  quarters  of  the  state  are  with- 
out an  elevation,  that  can  be  properly  called  a  hill.  The  pine  woods 
generally  have  a  surface  of  a  very  particular  character,  rising  into  fine 
swells,  with  table  surfaces  on  the  summit,  and  vallies  from  30  to  40  feet 


^^#. 


*j*i  J- 


^• 


'?,  *  ,  4'- 


#f 


^ 


LOIJiaiAIfAt 


235 


deep.  But  llicy  arc  without  any  particular  ranfjo,  niul  like  the  waves  of 
jj  j,ifrli  and  re<,'ulur  sea.  Tlio  alluvial  soil  is  levc;l,  and  the  swamps, 
which  are  the  only  inundated  alluvions,  arc  dead  lluln.  Tlio  vast  prairies 
which  constitute  a  larfjc  portion  ot'  the  surfiice  of  tlio  state,  iiavc,  in  a 
remarkable  degree,  all  the  distinctive  aspects  of  piiiiiics.  To  the  eye 
(hey  seem  ns  level  as  the  still  surface  of  a  lake.  TJiey  arc,  except  the 
quaking  prairies,  higher  and  dryer  than  the  savannas  of  Florida.  A  rango 
of  hills  commences  in  gentle  elevations  in  Opelousas,  rises  •,'radually,  and 
diverges  towards  the  Sabine.  In  the  vicinity  of  Nat(;Iiit()tlics  it  preserves 
a  distance,  intermediate  between  tiie  Sabine  and  Jled  River,  and  con- 
tinues to  increase  in  elevation  to  the  western  parts  of  the  state.  Seen 
from  the  Pino  Hills  above  Natchitoches,  they  have  in  tlie  distance,  the 
blue  outline  of  a  range  of  mountains.  Another  hnc  of  hills,  not  far 
from  Alexandria,  commences  on  the  north  side  of  Red  River,  and  sepa- 
rating between  the  waters  of  that  river  and  Dudgemony,  unites  with  an- 
other line  of  hills,  that  bound  the  alluvions  of  the  VVasliita,  as  blulfs, 
gradually  diverging  from  that  river,  as  they  pass  beyond  the  western 
limits  of  the  state.  The  new  and  remote  parish  taken  fiom  Natchitoches, 
•called  Claiborne,  or  Allen's  Settlement,  is  a  hirth  and  rolling  country. — 
There  are  considerable  hills  beyond  the  Mississippi  alluvions,  east  of  that 
river.  But,  generally  speaking,  Louisiana  is  one  immense  plain,  divided 
into  pine  woods,  prairies,  alluvions,  swamps,  and  hickory  and  oak  lands. 

The  pine  woods  are  generally  rolling;  sometimes,  but  not  often,  level. 
They  have  almost  invariably  a  poor  soil,  sufficiently  described  in  our  ac- 
count of  Florida  and  Alabama.  They  possess  the  same  character  here, 
except,  that  creeks  are  more  common,  with  more  extensive  and  somewhat 
richer  bottoms;  and  tliere  is,  perhaps,  a  greater  proportion  of  laurels, 
oaks  and  hickories  among  the  pines.  The  greater  proportion  of  the 
prairies  is  second  rate  land.  Some  of  those  west  of  OiH3lousas,  and  l)e- 
tween  Washita  and  Red  River  are  even  sterile.  Some  parts  of  the  prai- 
ries of  Opelousas  are  of  great  fertility,  and  those  of  Attakapas  still  more 
so.  As  a  general  fact,  they  are  more  level  than  those  of  tlie  upper  coun- 
try. A  large  belt  of  these  prairies,  near  the  gulf,  is  low,  marshy,  and  in 
rainy  weather  inundated.  A  very  considerable  extent  of  them  has  a 
cold  clayey  soil,  with  a  hard  pan  near  the  surface.  In  otlier  places  the 
soil  is  of  inky  blackness,  and  disposed  in  the  hot  and  dry  season  to  crack 
in  fissures,  of  a  size  to  admit  a  man's  arm. 

The  bottoms  are  generally  rich,  but  in  very  different  degrees.  Those 
of  the  Mississippi  and  Red  River,  and  the  bayous  connected  with  those 
streams,  are  more  fertile  and  productive  than  the  streams  west  of  them, 
and  between  them  and  the  Sabine.  Tlic  fertility  of  the  richer  bottoms 
of  the  Mississippi  and  Red  River  is  suificiently  attested  by  the  i>rodigious 


-^w^ 


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■•^.: 


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li  i^i 


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liOI'MlANA. 


¥ 


m 


jtrow'lh  uf  llic  tiiiil)cr,  llio  lii\iiri;iiicc,  size?  ami  lankuossof  tlm  cane,  anvl 
tliu  cotton,  tlio  tiin/^lf?  of  vines  and  (  n^cpcrs,  llic  aslonisliinj,'  .si/o  of  tlit- 
woods,  an<l  tliosli«Mi;,Mli  (»f  vr^/otiition  in  f^'cncnd.  W»!  Iiav(!  nKN'isnrcd  a 
%treo,  and  ii  snniacli,  hotli  ordinarily  considcri'd  as  slirnhs,  wliicli  were 
larger  than  ii  man's  body.  Tin;  richness  of  the  articles  of  cultivation  is 
ouilicicntly  well  known.  The  cotton  on  fresh  lands  of  the  richest  <iuality 
grows  to  the  size  of  u  considtuabK;  slirul). 

The  districts  of  Lonisiana,  which  have  the  richest  soils,  nre  the  follow- 
ing:— 1st.  The  island  of  New  OrlcMns.      'JMiis  is  .so  denominated  in 
geography,  and  correctly.     Not  far  hclow  llaton  llouge,  a  bayon,  or  clHux, 
culled  Alannhac,  or  Ibberville  makes  ont  from  the  Mississippi,  which, in  its 
course,  roc«'ives  other  waters,  until  swollen  to  a  considerable  river,  it  falls 
into  Lake  Maurepas.     That  ayain  is  connected  by  n  rtarrow  gorge  with 
Luke  Poncharlrain,  ami  that  by  the  rigolets  with  IaAo  Borgnc  and  the 
Gulf.      The  jMississipi)i  insulates  it  on  th(5  other  sid(!.      Consequently, 
the  island  of  New  Orleans  is  a  narrow  strip  of  land,  stretching  between 
this  range  of  lakes  and  the  river.     About  one-third  of  the  average  width 
of  this  strip  is  under  cultivation.     The  other  two-thirds*  are  swamp.     Its 
front  is  the  eastern   bank  of  the  Mississippi;  and  its  rear  is  this  bayou 
and  this  lino  of  lakes.     The  bayou  Manshac,  which  conipletes  the  insular 
character  of  this  tract,  is  narrow,  aiul  is  seldom  seen  by  persorjs descend- 
ing the  Mississippi.     This  tract  is  the  thiestpartcf  that  rich  country, 
called  the  roa.sf,       Tiio  coa^t  is   that  i)ut   of    the  bottom   of    the 
Missis8ii)pi,  which  coninienccs  with  the  iirst  cultivation  above  the  Balize^ 
that  is  to  say,  about  10  miles  below  New  Orleans  ami  150  above.     This 
belt  on  each  side  of  the  river  is  secured  by  an  embankment,  called  a 
levee,  from  (5  to  8  feet  in  height,   and  sulliciently   broa<l,  for  the  most 
part,  to  furnish  a  fine  high   way.     Tlie  river,  in  ordinary  inundations, 
w6uld  cover  the  greater  part  of  this  belt  from  two  to  six  feet  in  depth. 
It  is  from  one  to  two  miles  in  width,  and  perhaps  a  richer  tract  of  land 
of  the  same  extent  cannot  be  fountl  on  the  globe.     The  levee  extends 
something  higher  on  the  west  than  on  the  cast  side  of  the  river.     Above 
the  levee  on  the  cast  bank  of  the  river  arc  the  parishes  of  Baton  Rouge, 
and   East  and    ^Vest  Feliciana.       The  latter  parish  received  its  name 
from  its  pleasant  surface  of  fertile  hills  and  vallics,  and  its  union  of  de- 
sirable circumstances  for  a  planting   country.     This  parish  presents  a 
spectacle  very  uuconnnon  in  this  country,  hills  that  are  covered  with  laur^ 
els  and  forest  trees,  that  denote  the  richest  soil.      Here  arc  some  of  the 
richest  planters  and  best  ])lantations  in  the  state.     Bayou  Sarah,  the  point 
of  shipment  for  this  region,  sends  great  cjuantities  of  cotton  to  New 
Orleans.     iSomc  of  the  plantations  on  tliis  bayou  have  from  5  to  800 
acres  under  cultivutiuu;  worked  by  u  huge  number  of  hands. 


I**        ;    iVf.    f 


.  4- 

V 


West  oI'iIk;  >Ti:  i-i.-nippi,  ihr  llijoiis  li;!!oiircli(';m(l  Phu|ueinino,cfnuxes 
oroiiilcls  trom  <lii>  Mississippi,  Imvo  ilu;  .saiuc  c()iir»MiMiifion  of  banks, 
iiiitl  iIk.' same  (pnlilii'H  of  soil  with  (he  ptirrnt  Hticain;  niul,  where  not 
iiiiMKlafcd,  arc  cipially  fcrlilc.  TIk;  siiL'ar  caiu!  tlirivcsiiH  well  upon  their 
IkiiiKh.  JN'o  iiicniisidcraljlu  portion  of  Altakapas  is  of  ^Tcat  fertility,  aa 
an'  .■"iiiallor  portions  of  ( )pt'Ioiisas,  wliicli  is,  jiowcner,  rnoro  generally 
adiptcd  to  hcconio  a  L'ra/iiiu[  comiiry.  Tlio  'IVclio,  which  meanders 
tliron^Ii  Opcloiisaa  and  Altaka|)as  lias /^cMcrally  ;i  vrry  fortilo  alluvion, 
tlic  lower  conrsc.s  of  which  arc  <'nib(!llishod  witli  lino  plantations  of 
su'rar  cane.  On  IIkj  Atchalalaya  tho  lands  an^  rich,  hnt  too  generally 
iiMMidatcd.  Tho  ('onrlalilcaii,  riiiuiiM;>'  thron^h  Opclonsas,  has  probably 
as  rich  a  >«()il  as  is  to  lie  i'onnd  in  that  parish.  Approaching  Red  River 
from  0|)t;lonsas,  by  liayoii  nocnr,  wd  find  on  that  bayou  a  soil,  which 
Konu;  consid(!r  tho  richest  c(»lt()n  land  in  l.onisiana.  Dayou  Rouge  has 
also  a  lino  soil,  thonorh  if,  is  as  ycl  principally  in  a  stale  of  nature. — 
JJayon  Uohcrt,  still  nearer  to  I'ed  lliv(.'r,  is  of  extraordinary  fertility,  and  ■'. 
the  cano  brake  idonij  its  bank  is  of  astonishing  In.vuriance.  Bayou  ''^*' 
Rapide,  which  ^ives  nanu;  to  the  parish,  thronnh  which  it  runs,  is  a  beau- 
tifnl  tract  of  land;  and  the  belt  on  either  baidi  is  laid  out  along  its  whole 
conrs(!  in  line  cotton  plantations. 

The  bottoms  of  Red  River  are  well  known  as  possessing  extraordinary 
fertility;  and  the  lower  courses  of  this  viver  constitute  tho  paradise  of  cotton 
])Ianters.  Tho  color  of  tlu;  soil  is  of  a  darkish  red,  and  api)cars  to  derive 
its  jjreat  fertility  from  a  portion  o(  salt  intimately  mixed  with  it,  and 
from  its  peculiar  friability.  It  derives  its  red  colour  from  red  oxide  of 
iron.  It  is  a  wide  and  deep  vall(;y,  covered,  wliiio  in  a  state  of  nature, 
with  a  dark  and  heavy  forest.  Its  soil  has  been  accumulating  for  un- 
known ages  from  the  spoils  of  the  Mexican  mountains,  and  the  vast  *' 
prairies,  througli  which  it  rolls  in  its  upper  coiuses.  All  the  bayous  of 
Ucd  River,  and  they  are  luunerous  almost  beyond  computation,  partake 
of  tho  character  of  the  main  river. 

The  parish  of  Natchitoclus  lias  its  plantations  on  the  bank  of  Red 
IJiver,  and  its  divisions;  fov  the  river  runs  in  this  parish  for  a  considerable 
distance  in  three  parallel  divisions.  A  vast  body  of  rich  alluvial  lands,  '**' 
on  the  river  above  Natchitoches,  is  yet  covered  by  unad indicated  claims, 
or  belongs  to  the  United  States.  'J'iie  lands  on  the  Washita  are  black, 
like  those  on  the  Mississipjti.  The  alluvions  on  the  lower  courses  of  this  * 
river  furnish  an  adniivable  soil  for  cotton,  and  all  productions  that  require 
the  same  climate.  The  linest  lands  on  thi^iivt;r'are  covered  by  the  un- 
adjiidicated  claims  of  the  iJaronde  l{asta)p,  Maison  Rouge,  and  Winter. 
These  claims  are  of  i; real  extent;  and  the  lands,  generally  first  rate. 
These  arc  the  districts  in  Louisiana  tnosl  noted  for  possessing  first  rate 


•Tm^* 


■* 


i  I  If 


f  li 


;ft 


li 


m 


% 


0 


~^^ 


338 


M>irifiI,\NA. 


.?* 


lands.  But  in  lliis  luvcl  ro^i«)ii,  wliolly  true  Iron)  nioi  nliiins,  ami  prccipi' 
tous  liills,  uud  Htcrilo  lieiitlis,  then;  occur  even  in  llio  pine  wijuds  ami 
the  poorest  prairies,  tracts,  that  in  otiicr  pnrls  of  the  United  States  would 
be  culled  comparatively  t'crtilo 

Agriculture  and  productions.  Wheat  nnd  rye  do  not  flourish  her«. 
The  culture  of  these  grains  has  been  attempted,  and  it  is  said  with  suc- 
cess in  Allcn^t)  settlement  in  the  north-wist  angle  of  the  state.  But  in 
general  the  stalks  grow  too  rapidly,  and  lodge,  before  they  come  to  matu- 
rity. Barley  ond  oats  suci-oed  well. — Tlic  latter  are  generally  mowed 
for  fodder  at  the  latter  end  of  April.  Maize  grows  luxuriantly  on  tlie 
alluvions  and  rich  lands.  But  although  this  fuio  crop  has  a  wonderful 
luxuriance  of  growth,  it  is  more  congenial  to  the  climates  of  Kentucky, 
Ohio,  Missouri,  and  Illinois  or  the  cooler  climates  of  the  middle  states. 
In  tlie  south  it  grows  with  such  rapidity,  and  is  pushed  forward  so  fast  by 
the  soil  and  climate,  that  it  docs  not  rear  a  stalk  of  equal  size  and  firmness, 
with  that  attained  in  the  former  climates. — Nevertheless,  fifty,  sixty,  and 
even  seventy  bushels  to  the  acre  are  not  uncommon  crops.  Forty-five 
bushels  may  bo  assumed  as  the  medium  crop  of  the  maize  lands  in  this 
state. 

The  sweet  potatoe,  convulvulus  batatas,  in  tlit  sandy  soils  of  this  state 
attains  its  utmost  perfection.  We  have  seen  one,  which  weighed  nine 
pounds.  They  are  of  diflerent  s|  cies;  but  all  extremely  nutritive) 
and  raised  with  great  ease  and  abundance.  They  are  the  favorite 
food  of  the  blacks,  and  constitute  un  excellent  nutriment  for  all  classes. 
The  Irish  potatoe  is  raised  with  more  difficulty,  and  is  not  cultivated  ex- 
cept for  eating  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer;  and  for  some  cause  not 
yet  explained,  can  not  be  preserved  tlirough  tlie  year. 

The  usual  garden  vegetables  are  cultivated  in  abundance;  though 
some,  as  for  instance,  cabbages  do  not  grow  as  fine,  as  at  the  north.  The 
asparagus  is  indifferent.— Onions  do  not  grow  the  first  year  to  any  size* 
Small  onions  of  tlie  preceding  year  are  placed  in  the  ground  for  setts. 
The  pumpkin  and  tlie  melon  tribe  flom  ish  in  this  climate.  All  the  nor- 
thern fruits  come  to  perfection,  with  the  exception  of  apples.  The  apple 
tree  covera  itself  with  blossoms  and  fruit,  which,  before  it  ripens,  begins 
to  show  a  black  speck,  to*z,  and  falls.  Figs  of  the  different  kinds  grow 
in  the  greatest  abundance)  and  from  descriptions  of  the  tree  in  the  east- 
ern continent,  we  should  suppoF<^,  that  it  here  attains  its  largest  size. 
They  might  be  raised  in  great  abundance  for  exportation.  All  that  is 
necessary  for  raising  this  delicious  fruit,  is  to  put  a  slip  of  the  tree  in 
ground.  It  is  astonishing,  that  such  a  fruit  which  grows  almost  sponta- 
neously, is  hardly,  raised,  except  on  a  few  farms,  even  for  summer 
eating. 


>€ 


.r 


ij^jaj.- 


w 


LOI'ISIANA. 


390 


SlZCv 

setts, 
e  nor- 
applo 
)egin8 
grow 
9  east' 
size, 
lat  is 
reein 
x>nta- 
mmer 


Below  Point  Conpco  on  llio  ronst,  nn  tlio  Inworrotirscs  of  tlio  Teche, 
l.nfourche,  Phqurminr,  nnd  aloiijr  thf  whole  nlinre  of  the  j^ulf,  that  is  to 
pny  in  the  region  of  (he  nnpnr  cmip,  iho  onn«.'(»  froo,  swcot  and  bitter, 
flotiriiihes,  and  the  friiil  is  of  ihr  fiiitsf  (|ii!ilit  y.  Prcviona  to  1N22  omngel 
were  lying  under  the  trrrs,  ns  th(»  apples  at  the  north.  A  severe  frost 
that  winter,  destroyed  th(!  trees  in  this  slalt;  (|uilo  to  the  ground.  The 
roots  have  thrown  out  new  trees,  wliich  nre  again  in  a  bearing  state. 
The  olive  would  undoubtedly  flourish.  It  in  l»elieved,  that  there  are  a 
few  trees  in  bearing  in  the  state.  The  cultivated  vino,  vitvi  viniferOf 
flourishes,  and  an  abundance  of  fine  fruit  is  ollerod  in  the  markets.  Wild 
grajies  as  the  summer,  winter,  fox,  nniscadinc  and  pine  wood's  grape 
abound.  Berries  are  neither  ho  common,  nor  so  good,  as  at  the  north. 
Persimons  and  pawpaws  and  a  variety  of  haws  and  wild  fruit  are 
common  in  the  woods. 

It  would  carry  us  beyond  our  ol)ject,  to  describe  the  wild  and  cultivat- 
ed flowering  shrubs,  which  flourish  in  this  region  of  flowers.  The 
jessamine,  the  althca  and  rose  class  arc  the  most  common.  The  multi 
flora  is  a  running  vine,  which  attains  an  inconceivable  luxuriance.  Two 
or  three  summers  only  are  necessary,  completely  to  envelope  a  building 
with  this  grateful  verdure,  and  these  abundant  flowers.  China,  Catalpa, 
and  sycamore  are  the  most  common  ornamental  trees.  The  abundance 
of  mulberry  trees  seems  to  invite  the  making  of  silk,  in  a  climate  similar 
to  those^  where  it  is  made  in  the  greatest  quantities  in  the  old 
world.  ' 

Agriculture  is  in  its  infancy,  and  in  a  state  of  roughness  adapted  only 
to  the  labor  of  negroes ;  and  has  for  its  object  only  to  obtain  the  greatest 
amount  of  the  staple  crop.  A  great  number  of  rich  fruits  and  valuable 
productions,  congenial  to  such  a  soil  and  climate,  have  been  en- 
tirely unattempted.  Experiments,  except  in  regard  to  the  selection  of 
the  best  kinds  of  cotton,  and  the  best  mode  of  growing  it,  or  the  kind  of 
cane  that  is  most  productive,  have  not  been  commenced.  One  or  two 
spirited  individuals  have  recently  attempted  to  awaken  attention  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  tea  plant.  Benne,  which  yields  an  oil,  like  that  of 
olives,  succeeds  well.  Indigo  was  formerly  a  prime  object  of  attention 
with  the  planters.  The  cultivation  has  been  of  late  in  a  great  measure 
abandoned.  The  rice  is  remarkably  fair,  and  yields  abundantly.  There 
are  great  extents  of  land,  favorable  for  the  cultivation  of  the  upland  rice; 
and  no  limits  can  be  assigned  to  the  amount,  that  might  be  raised ;  but 
the  grand  staples  being  more  profitable,  little  more  is  raised,  thai'  for 
home  consumption,  in  a  country,  where  an  immense  extent  of  swamps 
might  be  profitably  devoted  to  that  article.  Tiw!  land  brings  tobacco  of 
the  finest  quality.    That,  which  is  cultivated  in  tlic  vicinity  of  Natchito- 


(  •    1 


J>'.    %<w  ..Mt 


340 


LOUISIANA. 


!»*i 


ches,  is  said  to  equal  lliul  of  ('ul)!i.     Bill  ilic  ciillmo  is  not  ciccrncd  so 
profitable,  as  that  of  the  great  staples. 

The  cotton,  cultivated  here,  ih  an  annual  plant,  ffrowing  in  the  rich 
lands  more  than  six  Icet  high,  and  the  larger  stalks  of  the  size  sf  anian'a 
arm,  throwing  out  a  number  of  branches,  on  uhich  form  large  and  beau- 
tiful whitish  yellow  blossoms.     A  cotton  lickl  in  flower  is  a  niost  gaudy 
and  brilliant  spectacle.    On  the  cups  of  the  flower  form  balls,  or  coccoons, 
or  as  they  are  here  called  forms,  in  wliicligrow  threr  or  four  elliptical 
seeds,  foiir  times  as  large  as  a  wheat  kernel,  and  of  an  oily  consistency. 
The  cotton  is  the  down,  with  which  oily  seeds  are  generally  enveloped 
i|i  the  conservative  provision  of  nature.     The  planting  is  from  March 
to  the  middle  of  May,  in  drill  rows,  six   feet  apart.       Much  more   is 
planted,  than  is  cxjxjcted  to  stand.    It  is  thinned  carefully,  and  ploughs 
in  the  form  of  scrapers,  are  used  to  clean  out  the  weeds.    In  September 
the  process  of  picking  commences;  and  is  renewed  two  or  three  times,  as 
successive  stages  of  forms  ripen.     The  weather  admits  of  this  operation 
with  comfort  to  the  hands,  until  the  season  calls  for  the  clearing,  and 
burning  the  old  stocks,  in  order  to  commence  ploughing  for  a  new  crop. 
This  is  one  of  the  advantages,  that  it  is  crop,  which  furnishes  employment 
fpr  the  hands,  during  every  period  of  the  year.     The  cotton  in  the  seed 
undergoes  an  operation,  called  ginning,  by  which  the  down  is  detached 
from  the  seeds,  and  blown  away,  while  the  seeds  fall  by  their  own  weight. 
It  is  then  packed  in  bales,  which  are  pressed  and  ready  for  exportation. 

The  kinds  of  cotton  cultivated  are  Louisiana,  green  seed,  or  Tennes 
see,  and  recently  Mexican  cotton.  The  green  seed  is  not  of  so  fine  a 
staple,  but  is  less  subject  to  the  destructive  malady,  called  the  rot.  The 
Mexican  is  both  of  a  finer  stajde,  yields  more  abundantly,  and  has  not 
hitherto  suffered  from  rot.  It  is  getting  into  common  adoption,  and  the 
importation  of  seed  from  Tampico  and  Vera  Cruz  is  becoming  a  consid- 
erable business.  Sea  island  cotton  grows  well  on  grounds,  that  Jiavebeen 
exhausted  by  the  continued  cultivation  of  the  other  kinds.  All  the  spe- 
cies exhaust  the  soil ;  and  the  seeds,  which  accumulate  in  prodigious 
quantities  around  the  gins,  furnish  an  admirable  manure  for  the  exhausted 
soil.  The  rot  is  a  disease,  from  which  the  balls,  that  begin  to  form  after 
flowering,  moulder  and  fall.  No  series  of  properly  conducted  experi- 
ments has  been  made,  to  ascertain  the  causes,  or  to  furnish  a  remedy 
against  this  disease.  TJie  causes  are  inexplicable  from  any  thing  yet 
kncvn  upon  the  subject.  In  some  seasons  it  is  nmch  severer  than  others. 
New  lands  are  less  subject  to  it  than  old  j  and  hitliertothc  Mexican  least 
of  all  the  species. 

Sugar  cane  is  a  very  rich  and  abundant  article  of  the  growth  of  Louis- 
ana,  raised  chiefly  on  the  coast,  the  shore  of  the  gulf,  the  bayous,  Tcchc^ 


^' 


LOUISIANA. 


241 


weight. 


Lafourche,  and  Plaquemine,  and  some  parts  of  Attakapas,  south  of  SP* 
It  is  propagated  by  laynig  cuttinrjg  or  slips  of  the  cane,  horizontally  in 
furrows  in  the  latter  pnrt  of  February.     The  shoots  start  from  eyes  of 
the  joints  of  the  slip.     When  grown,  it  resembles  the  rankest  broom  corn^ 
or  perhaps  more  ne^irly  Egyptian  millet.     At  maturity  it  resembles,  ex- 
cept the  spikes  or  tassels,  that  species  of  maize,  called  at  the  north,  Caro- 
lina corn.     When  it  is  cut  for  the  mill,  or  expressing  the  saccharine  sapj 
they  cut  off  something  more  than  a  foot  from  the  top  for  slips  for  plant- 
ing.   The  rows  in  the  rich  lands  arc  planted  six  foot  apart.      It  requires 
the  richest  soil,  the  vegetable  mould  of  which  should  be  at  least  a  foot  deep. 
There  are  three  or  four  varieties,  or  species,  as  the  African,  the  Otaheite 
the  West  Indian,  and  the  Ribband  cane.  Tlie  Otaheite  grows  luxuriantly, 
and  ripens  considerably  earlier  than  the  West  Indian;  but  is  said  to  con- 
tain saccharine  matter,  in  comparison  with  the  other,  only  as  two  to  three^ 
The  Ribband  cane  is  a  new  and  beautiful  species,  so  called  from  perpen- 
dicular and  parallel  stripes,  that  have  on  the  stalk  the  appearance  of  rib- 
bands.    We  have  seen  it  of  uncommon  size  and   weight,  and  it  is  said 
to  be  highly  charged  with  saccharine  juice.    Its  grand  advantage  over  the 
other  kinds  is,  that  it  does  not  require  so  long  a  season  for  ripening,  as 
either  of  the  other  kinds,  by  some  weeks.     It  can,  probably,  be  raised  two 
degrees  farther  north,  than  any  other  kind,  yet  attempted,  and  after  it 
is  cut,  it  does  not  become  spoiled  from  acidity  as  soon  as  the  other  spe- 
cieSi     They  are  making  trials  of  this  cane  in  Opelousas,  on  Red  river, 
and  about  Natchez.     It  is  not  unlikely,  that  it  will  naturalize  to  the  cli- 
mate, considerably  north  even  of  those  points.     Cane  is  understood  to  be 
productive'in  China,  where  the  frost  is  much  more  severe,  than  in  any 
places,  where  it  has  been  attempted  in  this  country*    When  the  habits  of 
plants,  in  undergoing  the  process  of  acclimation,  are  better  understood, 
it  may  he,  that  this  rich  species  of  cultivation  will  be  extended  to  points, 
where  it  has  not  yet  been  even  in  contemplation.     The  disadvantage  of 
the  Ribband  cane  is  that  it  has  a  harder  rind,  or  bark,  than  the  other 
kinds,  and  will  require  rollers  for  grinding  it  driven  by  steam  power. 

The  sugar  cane  is  a  very  hardy  plant,  not  liable  to  the  diseases  either 
of  indigo,  or  cotton.  It  is  cultivated  much  in  the  same  way  with  maize. 
It  ripens,  according  to  the  season,  it  experiences.  Rains  retard,  and 
drought  accellerates  its  maturity.  The  abundance  of  the  crop  depends 
upon  the  number  of  the  joints  that  ripen,  before  the  frost,  so  as  to  have 
the  proper  saccharine  juice  to  granulate  the  sugar.  A  slight  frost  favors 
that  fermentation,  which  is  necessary  to  the  formation  of  sugar  from  the 
sap.  A  severe  frost  at  once  destroys  the  vegetation  of  the  cane.  The 
cane  lies  a  short  time,  after  it  is  cut,  to  favor  this  fermentation.  It  is 
then  passed  between  two  iron  cylinders,  by  which  the  cane  is  crushed, 

31 


.■fc' 


* 


n 


343 


LOUISI/VNA. 


and  the  aap  is  forced  out  by  expression.  It  flows  into  boilers,  and  the 
process  is  simply  that  of  evaporation  by  boiling.  The  crop,  while  in 
growth,  has  great  beauty  of  appearance.  The  sap  is  so  rich  in  the  stalk 
of  the  cane,  as  to  have  almost  the  gummy  consistence  of  syrup,  and  sugar 
exists  there  as  nearly  in  a  concrete  stale,  as  it  can  be  in  solution.  An 
acre  properly  tended  will  yield  a  hogshead  of  1,'200  pounds  for  a  common 
crop. 

It  was  formerly  a  question  in  this  state,  which  was  the  most  profitable 
crop,  this,  or  cotton  ?  From  accurate  tables,  giving  the  number  of  hands, 
the  amount  of  expenditures,  and  the  average  value  of  product  from  each, 
from  a  number  of  years  in  succession,  it  appears,  that  sugar  was  the  most 
productive  crop,  even  when  cotton  bore  a  much  better  price  than  at  pres- 
ent. The  cultivation  of  the  cane  is  diminishing  in  the  islands.  That  of 
cotton  seems  to  be  every  where  increasing.  There  is  a  vast  amount  of 
sugar  lands,  not"  brought  into  cultivation.  We  do  not  as  yet  grow  by 
any  means  enough  for  our  own  consumption.  There  seems  to  be  every 
inducement  then,  to  extend  this  cultivation  in  Louisiana,  and  it  is  an 
omen  for  good,  that  the  planters  over  all  the  state  are  turning  their  at- 
tention to  this  species  of  culture. 

No  cultivation  in  our  country  yields  so  rich  a  harvest. — But  the  ■'< 
is  admitted  to  be  severe  for  the  hands,  requiring,  after  it  is  commca  .  *<> 
be  pushed  night  and  day.  It  is  deemed  a  more  severe  and  wearing  task 
to  work  this  crop,  than  that  of  cotton^  It  has  been  a  general  impression 
even  in  this  state,  where  the  true  state  of  the  case  ought  to  be  understood, 
that  sugar  could  not  be  made  to  profit,  unless  the  planter  had  a  large  force 
and  capital,  and  could  rear  expensive  houses  and  machinery.  *  This  im- 
pression has  hitherto  deterred  small  planters  from  attempting  to  cultivate 
the  cane.  But  it  has  been  found  by  experience,  that  sugar  can  be  made 
to  profit  with  as  small  a  capital,  as  is  required  for  commencing  a  cotton 
plantation. 

Louisiana  produces  an  average  crop  annually  of  more  than  100,000 
hogsheads  of  sugar,  and  five  million  gallons  of  molasses.  Whatever  gen- 
eral views  may  be  taken  of  the  tariif,  it  cannot  but  be  admitted  on  all 
hands,  that  the  grand  result  of  this  cultivation  is  owing  to  the  protecting 
duty  on  sugar;  and  that  this  individual  branch  of  agriculture  has  become 
in  some  measure  identified  with  the  prosperity  of  the  union  in  general 
and  the  West  in  particular. 

Buchisa  sketch  of  the  agriculture  of  Louisiana,  It  is  the  most  pro- 
ductive, according  to  the  number  of  hands  employed,  and  acres  worked,  in 
the  United  States.  No  country,  perhaps,  Cuba  excepted,  with  the  same 
population,  exports  of  its  own  growth,  articles  of  more  value  than 
I^ouisiana.      "  •  •  . 


f 


LOUISIANA. 


843 


Slaves.  As  this  states  contains  a  greater  number  of  slaves,  in  proper* 
tion  to  its  population,  than  any  other  in  the  western  country,  we  shall 
bring  into  one  compass  all  the  general  remarks,  which  we  shall  make 
upon  the  aspect  and  character  of  slavery  in  the  Mississippi  valley.  It  will 
be  seen,  from  the  table  of  jiopulalion,  that  considerably  more  than  one 
half  of  the  whole  population  of  this  state  are  slaves.  Formerly  they  did 
not  increase  in  this  state,  and  required  importations  from  abroad,  to  keep 
up  the  number.  But,  since  ex'iierience  and  humanity  have  dictated  more 
rational  and  humr.ne  modes  ofmannging  the  sick  and  the  children,  by  car- 
rying them  during  the  sickly  manlhs,  to  the  same  places  of  healthy  re- 
tirement, to  which  their  masters  retire,  they  are  found  to  increase  as 
rapidly  here,  as  ihey  do  elsewhere.  It  is  well  known,  that  under  favorable 
circumstances,  they  are  more  prolific  than  the  whites.  Retlecting  minds 
cannot  but  view  with  apprehension  the  remote  consequences  of  this  order 
of  things. 

It  is  not  among  the  objects  of  this  work  to  discuss  the  moral  character 
of  slavery,  or  to  contemplate  the  subject  in  any  of  its  abstract  bearings. 
We  can  pronounce,  from  what  we  consider  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
subject,  that  the  condition  of  the  slaves  here,  the  treatment,  which  they 
receive,  and  the  character  of  their  masters  have  been  much  misrepresent- 
ed in  the  non-slave-holding  states.  We  pretend  to  none,  but  historical 
knowledge  of  the  state  of  tilings,  which  has  existed  here  in  past  time. 
At  present  wo  are  persuaded,  there  are  but  few  of  those  brutal  and  cruel 
masters,  which  the  greatest  portion  of  the  planters  were  formerly  suppos- 
ed to  be.  The  masters  now  study  popularity  with  their  slaves.  If  there 
must  be  the  odium  of  severity,  it  is  thrown  upon  the  overseer,  who  becomes 
a  kind  of  scape  goat  to  bear  away  the  offences  of  the  master.  There  is 
now  no  part  of  the  slave-holding  country  in  the  south-west,  where  it  would 
not  be  u  deep  stain  upon  the  moral  character  to  be  generally  reputed  a 
cruel  master.  In  many  plantations  no  punishment  is  inflicted  except 
after  a  trial  by  a  jury,  composed  of  the  fellow  servants  of  the  party  accus« 
ed.  Festival  prizes  and  rewards  are  instituted,  as  stimulants  to  exertion, 
and  compensations  for  superior  accomplishments  of  labor.  They  are  gen- 
erally well  fed,  and  clothed,  and  that  not  by  an  arbitrary  award,  which 
might  vary  with  the  feelings  of  the  master;  but  by  periodical  apportion- 
ment like  the  distributed  rations  of  soldiers,  of  what  has  been  experimented 
to  be  sufficient  to  render  them  comfortable.  Considerable  attention  is 
paid  to  their  quarters,  and  most  of  them  comfortably  lodged  and  housed. 

Nor  are  they  destitute,  as  has  been  supposed,  of  any  legal  protection, 
coming  between  them  and  the  cupidity  and  cruelty  of  their  masters. — • 
The  'codenoir'  of  Louisiana  is  a  curious  collection  of  statutes,  drawn 
partly  from  French  and  Spanish  law  and  usage,  and  partly  from  the  cus» 


4^ 

4V1MF 


LOUISIANA. 


toms  of  the  islands,  and  usages,  which  have  grown  oi'»  of  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  Louisiana,  while  a  colony.     I',  has  the  aspect,  it  must 
be  admitted,  of  being  formed  rather  for  (lie  advantage  of  the  master, 
than  the  servant,  for  it  prescribes  an  unlimited  homage  and  obedience  to 
Ihe  former.     It  makes  a  misdemeanor  on  liis  part  towards  his  master  a 
very  different  offence,  from  a  wanton  abuse  of  power  towards  the  servant. 
But  at  the  same  time,  it  defines  crimes,  that  the  master  can  commit,  in 
relation  to  the  slave,  and  prescribes  the  mode  of  trial,  and  the  kind  and 
degree  of  punishment.    It  constitutes  unnecessary  correction,  maiming, 
and  niurder,  punishable  offences  in  a  master.     It  is  very  minute  in  pre- 
scribing the  number  of  hours,  which  the  master  may  lawfully  exact  to  be 
employed  in  labor,  and  the  number  of  hours,  which  he  must  allow  his 
slave  for  meal  times  and  for  rest.    It  prescribes  the  time  and  extent  of 
his  holidays.    In  short  it  settles  with  minuteness  and  detail  the  whole 
circle  of  relations  between  master  and  slave,  defining   and  prescribing 
what  the  former  may,  and  may  not,  exact  of  the  latter.     Yet  after  all 
these  minute  provisions,  the  slave  finds  the  chief  alleviation  of  his  hard 
condition,  and  his  best  security  against  cruel  treatment,  and  his  most 
valid  bond  for  kind  and  proper  deportment  towards  him,  in  the  increasing 
light,  humanity  and  force  of  public  opinion. 

That  the  slave  is,  also,  in  the  general  circumstances  of  his  condition, 
as  happy  as  this  relation  will  admit  of  his  being,  is  an  unquestionable 
fact.  That  he  seldom  performs  as  much  labor,  or  performs  it  as  well,  as 
a  free  man,  proves  all  in  regard  to  the  value  of  those  motives,  which  free- 
dom only  can  supply,  which  can  be  desired.  In  all  the  better  managed 
plantations,  the  mode  of  building  the  quarters  is  fixed.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  little  village  has  a  fashion,  by  which  it  is  settled.  Interest, 
if  not  humanity,  [has  defined  the  amount  of  food  and  rest,  necessary  for 
their  health;  and  there  is  in  a  large  and  respectable  plantation  as  much 
precision  in  the  rules,  as  much  exactness  in  the  times  of  going  to  sleep, 
awakening,  going  to  labor,  and  resting  before  and  after  meals,  as  in  a 
garrison  under  military  discipline,  or  in  a  ship  of  war.  A  bell  gives  all 
the  signals.  Every  slave  at  the  assigned  hour  in  the  morning,  is  forth 
coming  to  his  labor,  or  his  case  is  reported,  either  as  one  of  idleness, 
obstinacy,  or  sickness,  in  which  case  he  is  sent  to  the  hospital,  and  there 
he  is  attended  by  a  physician,  who  for  the  most  part,  has  a  yearly  salary 
for  attending  to  all  the  sick  of  the  plantation.  Tiie  union  of  physical 
force,  directed  by  one  will,  is  now  well  understood  to  have  a  much  greater 
effect  upon  the  amount  of  labor,  which  a  number  of  hands,  so  managed, 
can  bring  about,  than  the  same  force  directed  by  as  many  wills  as  there 
are  hands.  Hence  it  happens,  that  while  one  free  man,  circumstances 
being  the  same,  will  perform  more  labor  than  one  slave,  one  hundred 


^ 


LOUISIANA. 


245 


slaves  will  accomplish  more  on  one  plantation,  than  so  many  hired  free 
men,  acting  at  their  own  discretion.  Ilencc,  too,  it  is,  that  such  a  prodi- 
gious quantify  of  cotton  and  siignr  is  made  here,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  laborin/j  Imnds.  All  tlio  j  roccss  of  agrlcullure  are  managed 
by  system.  Every  tliinr^'  goes  straight  f  irward.  There  is  no  pulling  down 
to-day  the  scheme  of  yesterday,  and  the  whole  amount  offeree  is  directed 
by  the  teaching  of  experience  to  the  best  result. 

If  we  could  lay  out  of  the  question,  the  intrinsic  evils  of  the  case,  that 
would  be  a  cheering  sight,  which  is  presented  by  a  large  Louisiana  plan- 
tation. The  fields  arc  as  level,  and  as  regular  in  their  figures,  as  gardens. 
They  sometimes  contain  3  or  400  acres  in  one  enclosure;  and  we  have 
seen  from  a  dozen  to  twenty  ploughs  all  making  their  straight  furrows 
through  a  field,  a  mile  in  dci)th,  with  a  regularity,  which,  it  would  be 
supposed,  could  only  be  obtained  by  a  line.  The  plough  is  generally 
worked  oy  a  single  mule,  and  guided  by  a  singe  hand,  who  cheers  the  long 
course  of  his  furrow  with  a  song. 

Rimra.  East  of  the  Mississippi  fall  into  that  river  Bayou  Sarah,  and 
one  or  two  other  small  streams.  Into  the  efflux,  or  Bayou  Manshac,  or 
Ibbervilie,  as  it  passes  from  the  Mississippi  to  Luke  Maurepas,  fall  the 
Amite,  and  some  other  inconsiderable  streams.  The  Ticfah  fall  into 
Lake  Maurepas.  The  Tangipao  falls  info  Lake  Ponchartrain,  as  do 
Chiffuncte  and  Bonfouca.  Pearl  river  divides  between  this  state  and 
Mississippi,  and  falls  into  the  rigolets,  near  Pearlington.  None  of  them 
except  Pearl  River,  which  has  been  already  described,  have  courses  of 
more  than  70  or  80  miles,  and  they  are  navigable  by  schooners  to  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  lake.  They  rise  in  the  state  of  Mississippi. 
Chiffuncte  aflTords  the  best  harbor  on  the  lake. 

The  effluxes  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  in  ascending,  are,  first,  the 
Bayou  Lafourche;  next  Plaquemine;  and  the  last  Atchafalaya,  or  as  it 
is  universally  pronounced  ChalFalio.  Lafourche  breaks  out  from  the 
Mississippi  at  Donaldsonvillc,  90  miles  above  New  Orleans,  and  taking  a 
south-east  course,  finds  its  separate  channel  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  about 
50  miles  west  of  the  Balizc.  The  Plaquemine,  still  further  up,  carries 
out  at  times  a  great  anci  sweeping  body  of  water  from  the  Mississippi. 
After  running  some  distance  through  a  very  rich  tract  of  country,  it 
unites  with  the  Atchafalaya  in  one  broad  stream,  which,  before  it  passes 
into  the  gulf,  receives  the  Teclie,  a  stream  which  passes  through  the 
fertile  plains  of  Opelousas  and  Attaka|ias. 

The  Mississippi  pursues  a  very  direct  course  through  this  s*^^ate  to  the 
sea.  It  recently  cut  itself  a  passage  across  the  point  of  the  bend  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Red  River,  thereby  diminishing  the  distance  between 
Natchez  and  New  Orleans  30  miles.    The  same  thing  must  shortly  occur 


:>. 


\ 


LOUISIANA. 


at  Tunica  Bend,  both  of  which  will  reduce  the  water  distance  between 
these  towns  from  300  lo  200  miles.  By  another  'cut  off  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Chickasaw  Blufff<,  the  distance  has  been  sliortcnod  between  Natchez 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  In  this  way,  nature  and  human  effurt  com- 
bining, this  noble  river  in  no  great  length  of  time,  will  be  made  to  flow 
in  a  right  line,  or  reach,  as  the  Mississippi  phrase  is,  to  tlie  gulf. 

At  a  very  little  distance  IjcIow  the  mouth  of  Red  Ilivcr,  the  Atchafa- 
laya  breaks  out  from  the  west  bonk  with  an  outlet,  apparently  of  the 
same  width  with  Red  River,  and  it  is  supposed,  carrying  off  from  the 
Mississippi  as  much  water,  as  Red  River  brings  in.  It  has  such  a  position 
to  the  bend  of  the  Mississippi,  as  that  immense  masses  of  drift  Vv'ood  and 
limber,  passing  down  that  river,  are  swept  into  this  outlet.  This  accum- 
ulating mass  soon  meets  with  obstructions,  and  is  jammed  together  into 
a  raft,  which  rises  and  falls  with  the  rising  and  falling  of  the  Bayou.  A 
considerable  vegetation  of  shrubs  and  flowering  plants  has  been  formed  on 
the  surface  of  this  floating  timber;  and  a  man  might  pass  directly  over 
this  vast  mass  of  waters,  withou\knowing  when  he  was  crossing  it.  The 
raft  is  eight  or  ten  miles  in  extent,  and  is  supposed  to  contain  a  mass  of 
more  than  two  million  cords  of  w^od  and  timber.  The  medial  width  of 
the  Bayou  is  little  more  than  200  yards.  It  has  a  winding  cours?, 
traverses  many  points  of  the  compass,  and  receives  the  water  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi overflow  at  a  different  place  in  its  course.  Its  length,  before  it 
falls  into  the  gulf,  measuring  its  meanders,  is  nearly  200  miles,  and  its 
comparative  course  130. 

The  Teche  commences  in  Opelousas,  receiving  a  great  number  of 
streams,  that  rise  in  the  prairies.  It  winds  through  Opelousas  and  Atta- 
kapas,  and  meets  the  tide  at  New  Iberia,  to  which  point  it  is  navigable, 
the  Teche  having  8  feet  on  its  bar,  and  20  feet  within.  It  flows  about 
45  miles  further,  before  it  is  lost  in  the  Atchafalaya,  which  it  enters  by  a 
mouth  200  yards  wide.  It  has  a  course,  computing  its  meanderings,  of 
180  or  190  miles. 

West  of  the  Teche  are  the  Vermillion,  Courtableau,  Calcasiu,  and 
Sabine,  streams  of  considerable  importance,  beside  a  very  great  number 
of  smaller  streams,  which  rise,  except  the  Sabine,  in  the  woods  on  the 
south-western  parts  of  the  state,  and  thence  emerge  into  the  prairies,  and 
unite  either  with  the  streams  above  named,  or  fall  into  the  lakes,  which 
skirt  all  this  front  of  the  state.  Indeed,  the  whole  boundary  of  Opelousas 
and  Attakapas  on  the  gulf,  is  a  chain  of  lakes,  some  larger,  and  some 
smaller,  and  almost  innumerable.  The  margin  of  the  sea  shore,  for  some 
distance  back  into  the  country,  is  a  dead  level,  and  below  the  tides,  which 
are  created  by  a  strong  south  wind,  in  which  caso  the  sea  throws  its  waters 
over  great  extents  of  these  marshy  plains.    W  hen  the  rivers  reach  the 


J' 


LOUISIANA. 


247 


lakes  and  the  vicinity  of  tho  gulf,  they  communicate  with  the  lakes  by 
many  mouths,  and  by  each  other  with  numberless  lateral  communications; 
BO  that  the  connections  of  the  hikes  and  the  streams  form  an  immense  tis- 
sue of  net  work,  and  the  numbers  of  boatuble  communications  are  only 
known  to  the  inhabitants  in  tlieir  vicinity,  who  have  been  long,  and  inti- 
mately acquainted  witli  the  country. 

We  may  remark  in  passing,  that  ine  soil  on  the  Atchafalaya  is  red  like 
that  of  Red  River.  From  the  widtli  of  the  Bayou,  and  its  vicinity,  we  in- 
fer, that  it  was  once  the  channel  of  Red  River,  by  which  that  river 
pursued  its  own  independent  course  to  the  gulf,  without  mingling  its 
waters  with  those  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  soil  on  the  banks  of  the  Tcchc  is  red,  and  shows,  also,  that  it 
once  had  some  connection  with  Red  River.  Its  alluvions  have  many 
points  of  resemblance  to  those  of  that  river.  Like  them,  these  also,  aro 
ofexhaustlcss  ferlily.  They  ai-e  settled,  in  their  whole  extent,  until 
they  become  so  low  as  to  be  subject  to  inundation.  Except  the  coast 
above  New  Orleans,  it  presents  the  largest  and  compactest  settlement  in 
the  state.  It  is  remarked  of  this  stream,  thvt  it  presents  manifest  indica- 
tions of  having  once  been  the  channel  of  a  much  greater  volume  of 
water,  than  it  carries  at  present.  The  channel  grows  broader  and  deeper 
beyond  the  Fusilier,  for  an  hundred  miles.  At  the  former  place  it  is  50 
yards  wide,  and  at  low  water  three  feet  deep.  When  it  enters  the  Atcha- 
falaya, its  channel  is  100  yards  wide,  and  it  has  twenty  feet  water. 
Between  the  two  points  it  has  received  no  water  to  account  for  this  en- 
largement. ■• 
Bayou  Boeuf  and  Cocodri,  rising  near  Red  River  in  the  Pine  Hills, 
wind  through  a  very  fertile  alluvion,  and  unite  in  Opelousas,  to  form  the 
Courtableau,  which  waters  the  richest  part  of  Opelousas.  Vermillion, 
Mermentau,  and  Courtableau  all  rise  near  each  other,  in  level  table  lands 
near  the  centre  of  Opelousas.  Each  of  them  have  valuable  lands  lying 
on  their  banks. 

We  can  do  no  more,  in  conformity  with  our  limits,  than  give  some  of 
the  names  of  the  more  conspicuous  bayous,  that  go  to  form  those  which 
we  have  mentioned,  and  which  wind  in  different  directions  through  the 
vast  prairies,  between  the  Atchafalaya  and  the  Sabine.  In  this  distance 
we  cross  the  Derbane,  Waushka,  Tensa,  Fusilier,  Carrion,  Cocodri  Bayou 
Cane,  Bayou  Mellet,  Petit  Anse,  Bayou  Sale,  Bayou  Nezpique,  Plaque- 
mine,  Brule,  Queue  Tortue,  Bayou  Chicot,  Bayou  Grand  Louis,  Lacasine, 
Carrion  Crow,  and  a  great  number  of  streams  of  less  importance,  that  are 
properly  streams  of  ij  e  prairies.  . 

Below  the  open  prairies,  there  are  a  number  of  Bayous,  that  belong  to 
the  Atchafalaya,  and  the  Plaqnemine ;  such  as  the  Gros  Tete,  Bayon 


^ 


"f'fi'i. 


\v 


'  m 


if.:-  ''  ■- 


24S 


LOUISIANA. 


l* 


Maringouin,  Bayou  Mansir,  an  cillux  from  the  Mississippi,  Grand  and 
Petit  Caillou,  Bayou  Pcau  do  Clievruill,  Bayou  Largo,  and  many  others. 

Near  a  singular  lull  hetwcen  Opelousns  and  Avoyelles  rise  the  Bayoua 
Rouge  and  Petite  Prairie,  They  run  through  a  rich  soil,  and  an  im- 
mensely deep  and  heavy  forest.  Bayou  Rouge  is  a  circular  hill,  rising 
from  a  great  extent  of  adjacent  level  and  swampy  lands,  and  which,  hut 
for  its  extent  might  l;e  taken  for  an  Indian  mound.  The  small  and 
wretched  remains  of  the  Tunica  triho  of  Indians  reside  here.  This  tribe 
at  a  distant  period,  was  desolated  by  a  massacre,  perpetrated  on  them  by 
the  Natchez  Indians.  Here,  intermediate  between  Red  River  and  the 
gulf,  and  isolated  from  savage  and  social  man,  intercourse  with  whom 
has  been  alike  ruinous  to  them,  by  inundated  swamps  and  deep  and 
pathless  forests,  they  dwell  in  solitude. 

Before  we  proceed  to  describe  the  two  great  rivers  of  Louisiana,  Red 
River  and  the  Washita,  whose  tracts  lead,us  into  the  interior,  we  propose 
to  name  the  principal  lakes  of  Louisiana,  as  the  larger  of  them  either 
communicates  directly  with  the  gulf,  or  lie  in  its  vicinity.  Lake  Maure- 
pas,  Ponchartrain,  and  Borgne  form  an  extended  chain  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. Lake  Maurepas  is  of  a  circular  form,  and  is  comparatively  small. 
It  communicates  with  lake  Ponchartrain  by  a  narrow  pass.  Lake  Pen 
chartrain  is  40  miles  long  and  28  wide.  It  communicates  by  two  narrow 
passes,  called  rigolels,  with  lake  B;)rgne,  which  is  35  miles  long  and  12 
wide.  These  lakes,  though  navigated  by  a  great  number  of  small  vessels, 
principally  schooners,  are  shallow,  except  in  a  channel  through  their 
dentre.  Lake  Borgne  has  seldom  more  than  six  feet  water,  except  in 
this  channel.  When  the  wind  rises,  these  shallow  lakes  are  subject  to 
what  is  called  a  ground  swell,  and  their  navigation  is  dangerous. 

The  lakes  west  of  the  Mississippi,  along  the  shores  of  the  gulf,  and 
between  Red  River  and  Washita,  are  too  numerous  for  us  to  enumerate. 
A  complete  catalogue,  enibracing  them  all,  large  and  small,  would 
swell  the  number  to  hundreds.  The  chief  of  them  are  Barataria,  Attaka- 
pas.  Prune,  Salt  Water,  (Jreen,  Grand,  Mermentau,  Calcasiu,  and  Sabine 
on  the  gulf,  ind  Long,  Calahoola,  lalt.  Saline,  Natchitoches,  Spanish, 
Black,  Bistineau,  Bodau,  Pisquota,  and  many  smaller  ones  between 
Washita  and  Red  River,  and  Red  River  and  the  Sabine;  and  Concordia, 
Homochitto,  and  Providence  lakes  belonging  to  the  Mississippi.  West 
of  that  river  are  also  the  smaller  lakes,  Chittimachcs,  Natchez,  Des  Islets, 
Levy,  Little  Lake,  Palourd,  Quacha,  Ronde,  St.  John,  and  St.  Joseph. 
Some  of  these  lakes  ire  many  miles  in  extent,  and  others  are  little  larger 
than  the  collection  of  water,  called  ponds  at  the  north. 

That  some  of  them  are  of  recent  origin  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  in 
the  midst  of  them  are  vast  extents  of  water,  out  of  which  rise  thousands 


LOUISIANA. 


240 


of  deep  cypress  trees,  still  standing  erect,  where  boats  pass,  and  fish  are 
taken  in  tlie  driest  seasons.  As  you  approach  these  lakes,  which  abound 
in  tisli,  through  the  deep  forests,  which  skirt  them,  you  are  warned  of 
your  approach  to  thorn  by  observing  the  trees  shrouded  in  a  deeper  drapery 
of  long  moss.  They  huvc  generally  on  their  shores  a  skirt  of  rich  soil, 
resembling  an  alluvion. 

Sabine.  This  river  rises  in  Texas,  in  latitude  32°  30'  and  flows  south- 
wardly, entering  this  state  at  its  south-west  angle,  in  the  parish  of  Natch- 
itoches. Thence  it  forms  the  dividing  line  between  Louisiana  and  the 
states  of  Mexico.  It  has  a  course  of  400  miles;  and  in  high  stages  of 
its  waters,  when  the  obstructions  of  small  timber  rafts  are  cleared  out  of 
it,  is  susceptible  of  good  sSteam  boat  navigation,  as  high  as  the  great 
crossing  on  the  road  from  Natchitoches  to  the  Spanish  country.  In  low 
stages  of  water  it  has  but  four  feet  water  over  the  bar  at  its  mouth. — 
Like  the  other  rivers  of  this  state,  it  broadens  into  a  wide  lake  before  it 
enters  the  gulf  It  enters  it  through  a  vast  and  solitary  prairie  of  un- 
common sterility,  uncheered  by  the  distant  view  of  vessels,  or  any 
traces  of  social  existence.  A  few  wandering  savages  are  sometimes 
seen  diminished  to  moving  atoms.  The  wild  deer  browses  unmolested; 
and  the  sea  fowls  scream  unterrified  by  the  report  of  the  gun.  The 
prairie  is  as  illimitable  by  the  eye,  as  the  ocean,  on  which  it  borders. — 
Its  wide  alluvion  contains  lands  only  of  second  rate  quality.  It  waters 
the  most  hilly  parts  of  the  state.  Among  those  hills  there  are  frequent 
streams,  some  lakes  and  ponds,  and  oftentimes  small  strips  of  good 
second  rate  land.  This  stream  derives  its  chief  consequence  from  its 
position,  as  the  line  of  separation  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico. 

Washita.  This  large  river  rises  in  the  Masserne  mountains,  in  the 
Territory  of  Arkansas,  in  latitude  34°.  North  Fork,  Washita  Fork,  and 
South  Fork  imite  to  form  the  main  river,  which,  after  tlowing  something 
more  than  100  miles,  receives  from  the  north,  Hot  Spring  Fork.  Eight 
leagues  below,  it  receives  the  Cado,  and  the  same  distance  lower  down, 
(lie  Jiittle  Missouri.  The  Saline  rises  at  no  great  distance  from  the  Hot 
Springs,  and  after  a  winding  course  of  150  miles,  flows  into  the  Washita 
just  above  the  limits  of  this  state.  The  Bayou  Barthelemy  rises  ten 
leagues  south  of  the  Sabine,  and  joins  the  Washita  a  league  above  Fort 
Miro.  The  Chandron  comes  in  from  the  south,  and  the  Boeuf  and  the 
Mucon  having  its  head  waters  in  Providence  lake,  from  the  north.  The 
JMtler,  with  some  small  slre^irns  united  to  it,  forms  the  Tcnsa.  On  the 
other  side  comes  in  Catahoola,  or  Little  River.  Of  this  river,  the 
Diigdemony  is  a  principal  branch.  Little  River,  in  its  course,  passes 
through  Catahoola  lake,  and  uniting  with  tlie  Tensa  in  a  deep  swampy 

'32 


■:irii 


^:Pi 


M' 


m 


250 


liOl'I^IANA. 


forest,  forms  Black  River,  which,  80011  nl'ler  the  junction,  mixes  its  waters 
with  Red  River. 

The  soil  of  the  alluvions  of  Washita,  in  its  lower  courses,  is  black, 
«nd  extremely  fertile.  Its  upper  waters  run  through  a  mountainous  region, 
the  description  of  whicii  naturally  falls  under  the  head  of  Arkansas 
Territory.  The  lower  waters  of  this  river  rise  in  the  Pine  Hills,  and 
have  on  their  banks  second  rate  land,  until  a  short  distance  from  their 
union  with  the  main  river,  when  the  soil  becomes  of  the  same  quality 
with  that  of  the  main  river.  On  the  alluvions  and  bayous  are  alieady  a 
great  number  of  fine  cotton  plantations;  and  there  is  an  extent  of  rich, 
unoccupied  cotton  lands  for  a  much  greater  number  still.  The  natural 
productions  of  this  river,  and  its  waters  in  this  state,  are  considered  no 
way  inferior  to  those  of  the  best  parts  of  the  Mississippi,  and  are  the 
same,  with  the  exception  of  the  sugar  cane,  which  is  not  known  to  have 
Deen  attempted  on  its  waters. 

Red  River.     This  is  one  of  the  most  considerable  tributaries  of  the 
Mississippi.     Its  width  of  channel,  in  its  lower  courses,  does  by  no  means 
correspond  to  its  length  of  course,  or  the  immense  mass  of  waters,  which 
it  rolls  to  its  parent  stream.     But  in  high  waters,   when  it  has  arrived 
within  3  or  400  miles  of  that  river,  it  is  often  divided  into  two  or  three 
parallel  channels,  and  a  line  of  bayous  and  lakes  connected  with  it,  takes 
up  its  superabundant  waters,  and  they  are  a  considerable  time  in  filling; 
and  prevent  the  river  from  displaying  its  breadth  and  amount  of  waters,  as  it 
does  in  the  high  lands  500  miles  above,  where  the  whole  river  flows  through 
high  lands  in  one  broad  stream.     It  takes  its  rise  in  a  chain  of  hills  near 
Santa  Fe,  in  New  Mexico,  called,  we  know  not  by  what  authority,  the 
Caous  Mountains.     In  its  upper  courses  it  receives  Blue  River,  and 
False  Washita.     It  winds  through  a  region  of  prairies,  on  which  feed 
droves  of  buffaloes,  cattle,  and  wild  horses.     In  these  regions  it  receives  a 
great  many  considerable  tributaries,  the  names  of  which  have  not  yet 
been  given.     Between  the  Pawnee  and  the  state  of  Louisiana  it  receives 
Kimichie,  Vasseux,  and  Little  River,  from  the  north.     From  the  south 
enter  the  Bois  d'Arc,  and  Little  River  of  the  south.     The  Bodcau, 
Dacheet,  Black  Lake,  and  Saline  Rivers  enter  Red  River  after  it  enters 
Louisiana.     There  are  fine  tracts  of  land  on  the  Dacheet  and  Saline. — 
Wells  are  sunk  in  a  salt  plain,  near  the  Saline,  from  which  considerable 
quantities  of  salt  are  made.     Black  Lake  River  is  a  considerable  stream, 
on  the  banks  of  which,  among  the  hills,  are  found  great  varieties  of 
petrifactions  of  every  sort.      Lake  Bistineau  communicates  with  Red 
River.     Petrifactions  abound  on  its  shores,  and  this  remote  and  romantic 
sheet  of  water  has  some  of  the  most  delightful  scenery  on  its  shorei?. 


LOUIgI/V?l/v. 


!25t 


Tlirough  the  greater  amount  of  its  course,  Red  River  winds  through 
immense  prairies  of  a  red  soil  co\  ..red  with  grass  and  vines,  that  bear 
deUcious  grapes.  On  its  hanks  is  tho  ruvoritc  range  of  the  butfaloe,  and 
other  game,  peculiar  to  the  vast  wosfcrn  oceans  of  prairies.  About 
thirty  leagues  above  Natchitochos,  commences  the  Raft,  which  is  nothing 
more  than  an  broad  swampy  expansion  of  the  alluvion  of  the  river  to 
the  width  of  20  or  30  miles.  The  river,  spreading  hero  into  a  vast  number 
of  channels,  frequently  shallow  of  course,  has  been  for  ages  clogging 
with  a  compact  mass  of  tinjber,  and  fallen  trees  wafted  from  the  upper 
regions.  Between  these  masses  the  river  has  a  channel,  sometimes  lost 
in  a  lake,  and  found  by  following  the  outlet  of  that  lake  back  to  the  parent 
channel.  There  is  no  stage  of  the  water,  in  wliich  a  keel  boat  with  an 
experienced  pilot  may  not  make  its  way  tlirough  the  raft.  Wo  have  seen 
a  considerable  steam  boat,  which  was  built  above  the  raft,  and  floated 
through  it  in  an  unfinished  state.  The  river  is  blocked  up  by  this 
immense  mass  of  timber  for  a  length,  on  its  meanders,  of  between  60 
and  70  miles.  There  are  places  where  the  water  can  be  seen  in  motion 
under  the  logs.  In  other  places,  the  whole  width  of  the  river  may  be 
crossed  on  horseback,  and  boats  only  make  their  way,  in  passing  these 
places,  by  following  the  inlet  of  a  lake,  and  coasting  it  to  its  outlet,  and 
thus  finding  the  channel  again.  Weeds,  flowering  shrubs,  and  small 
willows  have  taken  root  upon  the  surface  of  this  timber,  and  flourish  above 
the  waters.  But  in  all  these  places  the  courses  of  the  river,  its  outline, 
and  its  bends  are  distinctly  marked  by  a  margin  of  forest  trees,  which 
grow  here  on  the  banks  in  the  same  manner,  as  they  do  where  the  channel 
is  open. 

It  is  an  impediment  of  incalculable  injury  to  the  navigation  of  this 
noble  river,  and  the  immense  extent  of  fine  country  above  it.  There  is, 
probably,  no  part  of  the  United  States  where  the  unoccupied  lands  have 
higher  claims,  from  soil,  climate,  intermixture  of  prairies  and  timbered 
lands,  position,  and  every  inducement  to  population,  than  the  country 
between  the  Raft  and  Kimichie.  This  country  would  be  settled  with 
greater  rapidity,  were  it  not  for  the  obstruction  which  this  raft  opposes  to 
tlje  navigation  of  the  river.  The  state  has  made  an  effort  to  have  it 
removed.  Accurate  surveys  of  it  have  been  made,  and  the  General 
Government  has  made  an  appropriation  for  this  purpose.  The  river  abotS;^ 
the  Raft  becomes  broad,  deep,  and  navigable  for  steam  boats  in  moderate 
stages  of  the  water  1,000  miles  towards  the  mountains. 

Below  the  Raft,  as  we  have  remarked,  the  river  divides  itself  into  many 
channels,  and  fills  such  a  number  of  bayous  and  lakes,  that  lie  parallel  to 
the  river,  that  the  bare  enumeration  of  their  names  would  carry  us  beyond 


I 


*??" 


852 


LOiriRIANA. 


ourobject.  The  valloy  of  this  very  intcrrsfinjr  river  hns  a  widih  (if  tliroo 
or  four  mileH,  an  hi^'h  as  the  Kiinichic,  or,  as  it  is  eominonly  railed 
Kiamesia,  nearly  a  tliniiHand  miles  from  its  mouth,  following  its  meanders, 
It  broadens,  as  it  slopes  towards  the  Mississippi,  and  has,  for  a  iuii/r 
distance  from  its  mouth,  a  valley  from  six  to  ei«{hteen  miles  m  widih. 
Of  all  the  broad  and  Ibrfilo  alluvions  of  the  Mississippi  streams,  no  one 
exceeds  this.     It  compares  in  many  more  poiiits  with  the  famous  Nile, 

than  the  Mississijjpi,  to  which  that  river  lias  so  often  been  likened 

Cotton  is  at  present  the  stai)lo  article  of  the  ^'rowtli  of  its  lower  course'. 
Sugar  cane  is  at  this  time  in  an  extensive  scale  of  ex|X!riment,  and  will, 
probably,  hereafter  be  raised  in  abundance;  and  the  broad  and  friilo 
plains  of  this  river  as  far  as  Natchitoches,  will  be  converted  into  siiijar 
plantations.  The  alluvions  of  Rapide,  Coteille,  Boouf,  Robert,  Riyolot 
Bon  Dieu,  Aux  Cannes,  and  the  other  waters  of  the  lower  parts  of  llio 
river,  in  fact  of  all  its  waters,  ns  far  as  32^,  seem  to  bo  jMJCuliarly  fitted 
for  this  cultivation.  This  valley  spreads  from  east  to  west,  instead  of  north 
and  south,  like  the  Mississippi,  The  immense  masses  of  cold  water  which 
that  river  brings  down  from  the  northern  regions,  must  sensibly  affect  the 
temperature  of  the  air  on  its  banks.  In  descending  from  Red  River  to 
New  Orleans,  we  have  observed,  that  vegetation  in  the  spring  was  more 
than  a  week  in  advance  of  that  on  the  INIississppi,  although  farther  to  the 
south.  We  believe,  that  cane  will  thrive  as  well  on  this  river  in  31°,  as 
it  does  on  the  Mississippi  in  30°.  All  the  chief  streams  of  the  river 
have  the  same  soil  and  character  with  the  main  river.  Indeed  the  lands 
on  Bayou  Rapide,  Robert,  and  Boeuf,  are  supposed  to  be  richer  than 
those  of  the  main  river.  It  is  considered  the  best  land  for  cotton  in  the 
United  States.  It  is  of  a  reddish  tinge,  mellow,  friable,  slightly  impreg^ 
nated  with  salt,  and  biings  forward  in  great  luxuriance  all  the  vegetation, 
that  is  proper  to  its  climate.  Its  indigo  and  tobacco  are  considered  the 
best  in  Louisiana. 

It  is  deemed  unnecessary  to  enumerate  the  trees,  shrubs  and  vines, 
that  are  common  to  the  valley  of  this  river  and  the  Washita.  We  have 
already  included  them  in  our  general  remarks  upon  the  trees  of  the 
western  country.  We  shall  only  remark,  that  the  greater  part,  which 
belong  properly  to  the  not  them  and  middle  regions  of  the  country,  are 
also  found  here.  We  except  the  chesnut,  although  the  chincapin,  a  species 
of  the  chesnut,  grows  here.  It  wants  the  orange  and  the  live  oak  of  the 
more  southern  parts  of  the  state.  The  laurel  tribe  is  very  abundant,  as 
are  the  oaks  and  hickories.  In  the  eastern  division  of  Opelousas,  forty 
different  species  of  trees  have  been  found  growing  within  the  space  of  a 
few  miles.     The  live  oak  seems  to  indicatc,,that  as  we  advance  west  in  the 


LOUISIANA. 


t>53 


same  pnmllol,  ilio  frmponhirf  (lirniiiislirH.  In  flio  wostrrn  parts  of  flio 
hUiU)  it  rolirort  lo  tlio  sotitli,  and  is  no  wliorc;  fourul  so  far  north  as  tlio 
vicinity  of  Mobilf. 

J/ilandf'.     lOust  of  tlio  .Mississip[>i    md  fronfin/r  this  sfatp,  there  arc  a 

ntimbcr  of  islands,  i\]()u<r  tliu  ?■  Ik  no  of  tlic  gulf,  thn  largest  of  which  is 

called  riiandclotir.    'J'iicy  are  nil  jiniall,  covered  with  pine  and  sand  heaps. 

Some  of  tlioin  are  inliahitcd,  an<l  rendered  fertile  hy  the  indnstry  of  their 

owners.     Those  that  lie  off  the  shore  of   T.akc  Borgne  are  considered 

tincommonly  henllliy;  and  some  of  the  inhabitants  Hiirvivc  to  extreme  old 

age.     West  of  the  Mi.ssis.wipi>i,  the  piiii<-ipal  islands  along  the  gulf  shore 

arc  Barataria,  Ihe  noted  r«'soit  of  Lafitte's  piratical  squadron,  Thomas^ 

La    Croix,  and    Ascension   Islands.       The  soil    of   these  islands  is 

generally  of   the  richest  character.     They  are  covered  with  a  dense 

forest  of  live  oaks  and  other  trees,  and  abound  in  deer,  turkeys,  and 

other  game.      Millions  of  s(ni  fowls,  at  the  proper  seasons,   frequent 

the  inlets  and  bays  contiguous  to  them,  and  oysters  and  fish  are  in  the 

greatest  abundance,  and  of  the  most  excellent  quality.     Thomas'  Island 

is  acquiring  reputation  as  a  resort  for  health.     From  the  purity  of  the  air 

of  the  gulf,  and  the  cool  breeze  of  the  trade  winds,  and  the  opportunities 

of  sea  bathing,  and  the  refreshing  verdure  of  the  island,  it  would  be  a 

delightful  summer  residence,  were  it  not  for  the  annoyance  of  its  myriads 

of  musquitos.    As  it  is,  it  is  a  charming  place  in  which  to  pass  the 

winter. 

These  islands  have  come  in  demand,  since  the  recent  discovery,  that 
their  soil  and  climate  arc  peculiarly  favorable  to  the  cultivation  of  tlie 
sugar  cane.  They  will  soon  be  covered  with  that  kind  of  cultivation. 
Although  there  are  extensive  marshes  between  them  and  the  high  grounds 
of  Attakapas,  yet  as  these  marshes  are  situated  north  of  the  islands,  and 
as  the  summer  winds  blow  almost  invariably  from  the  south,  they  have  all 
the  chances  for  being  salubrious,  that  they  would  have,  if  they  were 
wholly  removed  from  marshes.  Thomas'  island  is  connected  with  the 
main  land  by  a  cause  way.  There  is  an  astonishing  peculiarity  apper- 
taining to  this,  and  most  of  the  islands  along  this  shore.  Rising  from  tlie 
sea  in  the  midst  of  a  marsh,  skirted  by  an  immense  prairie,  as  level  almost 
as  the  gulf,  and  elevated  but  a  few  feet  above  its  surface,  the  islands  rise 
like  bluff  hills,  and  have  an  elevation  rated  diflcrently  from  twenty  to  one 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  and  above  the  prairies  in  the  vicinity.  The 
singularity  of  the  appearance,  which  they  present  from  this  circumstance, 
can  only  be  readily  conceived  by  one,  wlio  has  seen  the  country.  To 
find  the  cause  of  this  elevation,  and  to  accoimt  for  it  on  geological  prin- 
ciples, has  furnished  new  employment  for  geologists. 


254 


LOUISIANA. 


Beside  the  ica  islands,  there  are  many  lake  and  marsh  islands  on  thl» 
shore,  some  of  them  of  considerable  extent.  Sicily  Island,  between  Ca- 
tahoola  and  Natchez  is  not  only  a  body  of  fine  soil,  but  from  its  position 
and  appearance,  presents  an  aspect  of  great  interest.  In  the  midst  of  a 
vast  swamp,  and  insulated  by  marshes  and  bayous,  and  in  the  season  of 
high  waters  by  the  overflow  of  the  Mississippi,  a  large  body  of  the  richest 
alluvial  land,  entirely  above  the  highest  floods,  rises  like  a  glacis  to 
bluffs  of  pine  woods,  and  we  see  their  ever  verdant  tops  waving  above  the 
▼ast  surrounding  morass.  On  this  island  are  some  of  the  best  planta- 
tions in  the  parish  of  Catahoola. 

Bays.  We  have  seen  that  the  shores  of  the  gulf  are  generally  low. 
They  are  especially  so  along  the  front  of  this  state.  Vast  extents  of  marsh 
and  trembling  prairie  interpose  between  the  sea  and  the  cultivable  lands. 
The  lakes,  inlets  and  sounds  are  connected  by  an  inextricable  tissue  of 
communications  and  passes  accessible  by  vessels  and  baycraft,  are 
impossible  to  be  known  except  by  pilots,  perfectly  acquainted  with  the 
waters.  Hence  the  security  afforded  to  small  piratical  vessels,  command- 
ed by  men,  who  could  guide  them  by  sinuous  and  narrow  channels,  where 
none,  but  the  most  experienced  pilots  could  follow  them.  The  shore  is 
indented  by  numberless  small  bays,  very  few  of  them  affording  sufficient 
water  to  shelter  vessels.  Berwick's  Bay  is  the  only  one,  that  has  any 
considerable  extent. 

Prairies.  A  very  great  proportion  of  the  surface  of  this  state  is  covered 
with  prairies.  Almost  all  these  prairies  are  connected,  and  form,  like 
the  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  a  family,  through  which  the  connection  of 
of  all  the  branches  may  be  traced.  The  prairies,  that  are  included  un- 
der the  general  name  of  Attakapas,  are  the  first,  that  occur  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  The  parish  of  Attakapas  is  situated  in  these  prairies.  The 
name  implies  *  man  cater,''  in  the  language  of  the  savages,  who  formerly 
inhabited  it,  and  who  are  reported  to  have  been  cannibals.  It  is  an  im- 
mense plain  of  grass,  spreading  from  the  Atchafalaya  on  the  north  to  the 
gulf  on  the  south.  Being  open  to  the  gulf,  it  is  generally  fanned  by  the 
refreshing  breezes  of  that  sea.  Its  aspect  of  extreme  fertility,  its  bound- 
less plain  of  grass,  its  cheering  views,  its  dim  verdant  outline,  mingling 
with  the  blue  of  the  sky,  white  houses  seen  in  the  distance,  innu- 
merable cattle  and  horses  grazing  on  the  plain,  or  reposing  here  and 
there  under  the  shade  of  its  wooded  points  have  an  indescribable  pleasant- 
ness to  the  traveller,  who  has  been  toiling  on  his  way  through  the 
tangle,  the  swamps,  and  along  stagnant  lakes,  and  the  dark  and  deep 
forest  of  the  Mississippi  bottom.  All  at  once  he  leaves  the  stifling  air, 
the  musquitoes,  the  rank  cane,  the  annoying  nettles,  and  the  dark  brown 


T.OUlSIANAt 


255 


shade,  and  emerges  in  (liis  noble  and  cheerful  plain,  and  feels  the  cool 
and  salubrious  breeze  of  the  gulf.  At  first  he  finds  it  almost  painful  to 
dilate  that  vision,  which  has  so  long  been  confined  in  the  forest,  to  the 
•contemplation  of  the  boundless  prospect,  before  him.  He  sees,  spread 
-out  under  his  eye,  an  immense  tract  of  beautiful  country,  containing  in 
1820,  more  than  12,000  people,  all  subsisting  by  agriculture. 

Advancing  west,  he  passes  from  this  to  Opelousas  prairie,  still  larger 
than  the  other,  and  computed  to  contain  nearly  8,000  square  miles.  It 
is  divided  by  bayous,  wooded  grounds,  points  and  bends,  and  other  natural 
boundaries,  into  a  number  of  prairies,  which  have  separate  names  and 
marks  of  distinction.  Taken  in  its  whole  extent,  it  is  bounded  by  the 
Attakapas  prairie  on  the  east,  pine  woods  and  hills  on  the  north,  the 
Sabine  on  the  west,  and  the  gulf  on  the  south.  Tiie  soil,  though  in  many 
places  very  fertile,  is  in  general  less  so,  than  the  former.  It  atones  for 
that  deficiency  by  being  more  salubrious,  being  generally  deemed  the 
healthiest  region  in  the  state.  There  are  here  very  considerable  cotton 
plantations,  and  some  of  indigo;  and  the  parish,  which  bears  its  name, 
is  one  of  the  most  populous  in  the  state.  The  people  of  the  former  are 
devoted  to  the  growth  of  the  sugar  cane.  This  is  the  centre  of  the  land 
of  shepherds.  The  greater  number  of  the  people  are  chiefly  devoted  to 
that  employment,  and  they  number  their  cattle  by  thousands. 

Bellevue  prairie  is  partly  in  Opelousas,  partly  in  Attakapas.  It 
affords,  as  its  name  imports,  a  delightful  prospect.  It  is  watered  on  its 
western  limits  by  Bayou  Queue  Tortue,  Plaquemine  Brule,  Bayou 
Melet,  Prairie  Grand  Chevruil,  Laurent,  Alabama,  WikofTs',  Le  Melles', 
Avoyelles',  Merom,  or  Marom  Grand  prairie.  Calcasiu  and  Sabine 
prairies  are  names,  that  designate  the  difl!erent  forms,  shapes  and 
openings  of  this  continuous  line  of  prairies,  as  it  stretches  along  the 
settlements  from  the  Plaquemine  to  the  Sabine. 

Some  of  them,  as  Opelousas,  are  of  immense  extent.  That  of  the 
Sabine  is  boundless  to  the  vision.  Calcasiu  is  seventy  miles  lonw  by 
twenty  wide.  They  are  generally  so  level,  as  to  strike  the  eye  as  a  perfect 
plain.  They  have,  however,  slight  swells  and  declinations,  sufficient  to 
carry  the  water  from  them.  Though  after  long  rains  they  are  extremely 
wet,  and  immense  tracts  are  covered  with  water.  They  have  a  gentle 
and  imperceptible  slope  towards  the  gulf,  and  generally  terminate,  before 
they  reach  the  shore,  in  wet  marshes,  into  which,  when  the  south  wind 
blows,  the  sea  is  driven.  These  marshes  are  covered  with  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  tall,  reedy  grass,  called  cane  grass.  In  various  parts  of  these 
prairies,  there  are  islands  of  timbered  lands.  They  generally  have  an  ap- 
pearance of  such  regularity  and  beauty,  that  a  stranger  is  witli  difficulty 


256 


LOUISIANA. 


convinced,  that  tliey  are  not  clumps  of  trees,  planted  out  in  circuhir,  square, 
or  triangular  forms  for  the  beauty  of  their  appearance.  It  would  be 
impossible  to  convey  to  one,  who  has  not  felt  it,  an  idea  of  the  effect 
produced  by  one  of  these  circular  clumps  of  trees,  seeming  a  kind  of 
tower  of  verdure,  rising  from  an  ocean  of  grass.  Wherever  a  bayou,  or  a 
stream  crosses  the  prairie,  it  is  marked  wilh  a  fringe  of  timber,  which 
strikes  the  eye  of  an  observer,  like  the  lines  of  trees  in  landscape 
painting. 

At  the  points  of  these  prairies,  and  wherever  the  streams  and  bayous 
cross  them,  the  soil  is  rich.  But  they  become  of  a  thinner  and  more 
sterile  soil,  as  we  advance  towards  the  Sabine.  Attakapas  is  the  first  and 
most  fertile,  and  that  of  the  Sabine  the  last  and  the  most  sterile.  On  the 
skirts  even  of  the  poorer  prairies,  near  water  courses  and  abundant  winter 
range,  there  is  a  sparse  population  quite  to  the  Sabine.  The  situations 
are  generally  selected  with  a  view  to  their  being  favorable  for  the  raising 
of  cattle.  There  are  a  few  cotton  plantations  beyond  Opelousas  prairie. 
But  most  of  the  people  subsist  by  raising  cattle  and  horses.  Some 
years  since,  three  men  of  this  region  numbered  above  15,000  head  of 
horned  cattle,  and  2,000  horses  and  mules.  Some  of  the  situations  on 
these  lonely,  but  delightful  prairies,  have  been  selected  with  such  refer- 
ence to  beauty  and  prospect,  that  we  question  if  any  in  Arcadia  surpass- 
ed them.  They  raise  sheep,  the  mutton  of  which  is  excellent;  but  the 
wool  coarse.  Many  of  the  horses  are  of  the  Andalusian  and  Numidian 
breed ;  and  the  cattle  sleek,  slender,  elegantly  formed,  and  spirited  in 
their  movements.  They  are  driven  to  New  Orleans  for  a  market.  Many 
of  the  inhabitants  are  French,  clad  in  leather,  abounding  with  milk  and 
honey,  often  opulent,  but  clinging  to  the  simplicity  of  pastoral  life  from 
habit  and  inclination.  The  traveller  looks  round  upon  thousands  of 
cattle,  and  a  rustic  abundance  of  every  tiling,  appertaining  to  a  shepherd*s 
life;  and  is  welcomed  with  a  genuine  hospitality,  accompanied  with 
French  urbanity. 

It  has  been  observed,  that  in  advancing  towards  these  sequestered  re- 
gions the  traveller  from  New  Orleans  observes  a  decrease  of  luxury  and 
refinement,  corresponding  to  his  advance  on  his  journey,  evidencing  a 
similitude  of  inverted  history.  He  travels  through  all  the  different 
stages  of  refinement,  from  the  luxury  of  that  showy  and  expensive  city, 
to  the  mansions  of  the  opulent  and  rural  planters  of  Atlakapas,  iho  petits 
paysans  beyond,  and  the  Arcadian  habitations  of  the  French  planters 
near  the  Sabine. 

Avoyelles  prairie  has  a  very  narrow  front  on  lied  river,  is  rich  and 
alluvialin  point  of  soil,  and  of  moderate  extent,  beuig  seldom  more  than 


#'* 


LOUISIANA. 


257 


three  or  four  miles  wide.  It  runs  back  from  Red  river  a  considerable 
distance,  and  coiistitutos  the  parish,  the  name  of  wliich  it  bears.  It  is  in- 
habited by  cotton  planters  and  people  who  subsist  by  raising  cattle. 
They  are  princii)ally  French.  "  -.  'f    ^     ■ 

Catahoola  prair;*^,  on  Catahoola  or  Little  river  and  the  Washita  has  in 
many  respects  a  rcicmblancc  to  that  of  Avoyelles.  This  prairie,  togeth- 
er with  Sicily  islai.il,  constitutes  the  chief  part  of  the  parish  of  Catahoola. 
There  are  also,  very  extensive  prairies  between  Washita  and  Red  river. 
They  spread  in  a  line,  which  meanders,  like  the  course  of  the  rivers, 
tiirough  the  wooded  country,  until  they  connect  themselves  with  the  im- 
mense grassy  plains  on  tlie  ui)per  courses  of  these  rivers.  They  are 
generally  second  or  third  rate  land,  for  the  most  part  uninhabited,  and 
many  of  them  as  yet  without  a  name. 

Three  new  parishes  have  been  recently  created  by  the  legislature.  The 
parish  of  Plaquemine  is  situated  norm  of  lake  Borgnc,  west  of  New  Or- 
leans, and  is  bounded  on  the  southeast  by  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  The 
greater  part  of  its  surface  is  swampy.  It  produces  all  the  articles  of  cul- 
ture in  Louisiana;  but  sugar  is  the  staple. 

The  parish  of  Orleans  includes  Iheeity.  Chef  Mcnteur,  Rigolets,  Bayou 
Bienvenu,  Bayou  Gcntilly  and  Bayou  St.  Johns,  are  all  in  this  parish, 
and  are  famous  in  the  history  of  the  late  war.  Lake  Ponchartrain,  lake 
Borgne,Barartaria  bay  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  Caminda  bay,  lake  Des  islets, 
lake  Rond,  Little  lake  and  Quacha  lake  are  in  Hie  limits  of  this  parish. 
Sugar,  and  after  tliat,  cotton  are  the  staples.  Along  the  coast  there  are 
groves  of  orange  trees,  and  the  fig  is  extensively  raised.  In  this  parish  are 
the  greater  part  of  the  defences,  that  are  intended  to  fortify  the  city  of  New 
Orleans  against  the  attack  of  a  foreign  foe.  The  chief  fortifications  are 
on  those  points,  by  which  the  British  ap[)roached  the  city  during  the  late 
war.  Extensive  fortifications  of  brick  have  been  creeled  at  Petits  Coquil- 
Ics,  Chief  Mentour  and  Bayou  Bicnvcuu,  the  two  former  guarding  the 
passes  of  the  Rigolets,  between  lake  Borgnc  and  lake  Ponchartrain, 
and  the  latter  the  approach  from  lake  Borgnc  towards  New  Orleans.  A 
great  work,  to  mount  120  cannon  is  erected  at  Plaquemine  on  the 
Mississippi.  These  works,  fill  not  far  short  of  the  expense  of  two 
million  dollars.  Fort  St.  Johns,  at  tlic  entrance  of  the  Bayou  St.  Johns 
into  lake  Ponchartrain,  is  well  situated  for  the  defence  of  the  pass:  It 
is  an  ancient  establishment  of  llie  former  regime.  The  guns  are  of  vast 
calibre;  but  they  ajqiear  to  be  ^^calcd,-  and  the  walls  have  a  ruinous  aspect. 
These  points  of  defence  have  •been  'selecl(::/J,„wiUi.>great  judgment,  and 
have  been  fortified  with  so  inifclicare,  thatrt/^^sJ»j^posed  no  enemy  could 
ever  again  approach  the  city  by  the  sam((  py^i^yM'^'^^ff'^  which  it  was 
approached  by  the  British,  in  the  past  war.  •.['•New  Orleans,  the  key  of 
the  Mississippi  valley,  and  the  depot  of  its  agriculture  and  commerce,  is 

#3 


* 


r 


1^,1 


>. 


m 


fi} 


258 


LOUISIANA. 


already  a  city  of  immense  imporlunce,  and  is  every  year  becoming  more 
so.  This  city  has  strong  natural  defences,  in  its  position  and  its  climate. 
It  is  now  strongly  defended  by  artificial  fortifications.  But,  after  all,  ihe 
best  defence  of  this,  and  of  all  other  cities,  is  the  vigilant  and  patriotic 
«nergy  of  the  masses  of  free  men,  who  can  now  by  steam  boats  be  brought 
down  to  its  defence  in  a  few  days  from  the  remotest  points  of  the  west. 
It  is  not  to  be  forgotten,  that  by  the  same  conveyance,  an  enemy  might 
ulso  be  brpught  against  it. 

Of  tlie  other  parishes  we  may  remark  in  general,  that  as  far  up  the  Mis- 
sissippi, as  the  parish  of  Baton  Rouge  on  the  east  side,  and  Point  Coupee 
on  the  west,  the  cultivation  of  sugar  cane  is  the  chief  pursuit.  The 
•same  may  be  said  of  Plaquemine,  Lafourche  and  Attakapas.  The  staple 
article  of  the  western  parishes  beyond  is  cotton. — The  parishes  north  of 
lake  Ponchartrain,  which  formerly  made  a  part  of  Florida,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  some  few  tracts,  and  the  alluvions  of  Pearl  river  and  Bogue 
Chitto,  have  a  sterile  soil.  They  raise  large  flocks  of  cattle,  and  send 
great  quantities  of  lumber  to  New  Orleans,  together  with  pitch,  tar,  tur- 
pentine, and  charcoal.  They  burn  great  quantities  of  lime  from  the  beds  of 
shells,  which  cover  whole  tracts  neir  the  lakes ;  and  they  send  sand  from 
the  beaches  of  the  lakes,  for  covering  the  pavements  of  New  Orleans. 
They  hafe,  also,  for  some  years  past,  manufactured  bricks  to  a  great 
amount,  and  transported  them  across  the  lake.  They  have  a  great  number 
of  schooners,  that  ply  on  the  lakes  in  this  and  other  employments.  The 
people,  engaged  in  this  extensive  business,  find  the  heavy  tolls  demanded 
on  the  canal  a  great  impediment  irt  the  way  of  the  profit  of  this  trade. 
The  country,  generally,  is  covered  with  open  pine  woods,  and  has  small 
tracts  of  second  rate  land  interspersed  among  them.  It  is  valuable, 
from  its  inexhaustible  supplies  of  timber,  and  wood  for  the  New  Or- 
leans market. 

Chief  Towns.  New  Orleans,  the  commercial  capital  of  the  state, 
and  the  emporium  of  western  commerce,  is  situated  on  the  east  shore  of 
the  Mississippi  in  a  bend  so  deep  and  sinuous,  that  the  sun  rises  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  city  from  the  opposite  shore,  in  north  latitude  29°  57'; 
and  in  90°  8'  west  longitude  from  Greenwich;  and  in  13°  9'  from  Wash- 
ington, 105  miles  by  the  meanders  of  the  river  from  the  Balize,  and  90 
miles  in  a  direct  line;  not  far  from  1,000  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio;  and  a  little  more  than  1,200  below  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 
It  is  nearly  intermediate  between  Boston  and  Mexico,  although  the  pas- 
sage from  New  Orleans  to  Vera  Cruz  is  much  shorter  by  sea,  than  to 
Boston.  It  consists  of  the  old  city,  propeily  so  called,  which  is  built  in 
the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  of  which  the  longer  sides  are  1,320  yards  in 
length,  and  the  shorter,  or  the  depth  of  the  city  towards  the  swamp,  700 


LOUISIANA. 


259 


yards.    Above  llie  city  are  llie  Fiibnibs  St.  Mary,  and  Annunciation. 
Below  the  city  are  the  suburbs  Marigny,  Daunois,  and  Declouif.     These 
are  called  Fauxbourprs.     Between  Ibc  city  ai;d  the  Bayou  St.  John  are 
the  villages  St.  Claude  and   St.  Jolinsburg.     Whoever  will  look  at  its 
position  on  the  map,  will  see  at  once  its  unrivalled  advantages  of  position, 
for  a  commercial  capital.     Accessible  (juickly,  and  at  all  times  by  large 
ships  from  the  sea,  its  longdistance  above  it,  and  the  sinuosities  of  the 
river  give  it  uncommon  capabilities  of  defence  from  foreign  annoyance. 
It  has  probably  twice  as  much  extent  of  boat  navigation  above  it,  as  any 
other  city  on  the  globe.     Taking  the  length  of  all  the  tributaries  of  the 
Mississippi,  that  are  navigable,  and  actually  navigated  by  steam  boats,  it 
is  not  extravagant  to  say,  that  the  sum  would  exceed  20,000  miles;  and 
thesf  waters  penetrate  the  most  fertile  soils,  and  i)ass  through  the  pleas- 
antest  climates.     Its  advantages  of  communication  with  the   country, 
immediately  adjacent  to  it,  have  been  overlooked,  in  comparison  with 
those  of  its  relation  to  the  upper  country.  But  even  in  these  respects  it  is 
unrivalled.    By  the  basin  of  the  canal,  and  the  Bayou  St.  John  it  commu- 
nicates with  lake  Poiicharlrain,  and  the  connected  lakes;  with  the  oppo- 
site Florida  shore,  with  Mobile,  Pensacola,  and  the  whole  gulf  shore,  east 
and  west.     Not  a  few  vessels,  clear  from  the  basin  for  the  Atlantic  and 
Mexican  ports.     The  basin  is  scarcely  distant  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  ship  landing  on  the  Mississippi.     A  person  on  the  basin  wharf  can 
see  the  masts  of  the  vessels,  lying  on  the  shore  of  the  levee,  and  yet  a  vessel 
sailing  from  the  Basin,  would  have  to  sail  through  the  lakes  along  the 
gulf  shore,  and  up  the  Mississippi,  some  hundreds  of  miles,  to  arrive  at  so 
little  distance  from  her  former  position.     Even  the  commerce  and  ship- 
ping of  the  basin  would  be  sufficient  for  the  support  of  a  considerable  city. 
There  is  an  incorporation,  to  connect  the  lake  with  the  Mississippi  by 
a  canal,  directly  from  the  one  to  the  other.     A  most  necessary  and  impor- 
tant  canal  is,  also  contemplated,  for  connecting  Attakapas  with  the  city. 
Nature  has  almost  completed  the  line   of  communication.     At  present 
the  Bayous  Plaquemine    and  Lafourche  furnish  that  communication. 
Although  steam  boats  run  between  Opelousas  and  Attakapas  by  these 
routes  and  the  Teche,  yet  the  mouths  of  these  Bayous  are  liable  to  be 
choaked  with  timber,  and  the  navigation  is  generally  attended  with  some 
difficulty,  and  is  moreover  circuitous.     There  are  so  many  communica- 
tions by  water  between  New  Orleans  and  the  lower  parts  of  Louisiana, 
accessible  by  the  smaller  boats,  that  all  of  them  are  only  known  to  people, 
who  have  been  in  habits  for  a  bng  time,  of  exploring  them,  for  the  sake 
of  finding  new  and  shorter  routes  to  their  destination. 

Viewed  from  the  harbor  on  a  sunny  day,  no  city  oflers  a  more  striking 
panoramic  view.      It  envelopes  the  beholder  something  in  the  form  of  a 


^^. 


5J«0 


LOniSIANA. 


crescent.  An  area  of  many  acres  covered  with  all  the  yrotegqne  variety 
of  flat  boats,  keel  boats,  and  water  craftH  of  every  description,  that  Imvo 
floated  from  all  points  of  the  valley  above,  lines  the  upper  part  of  tlio 
shore.  Steam  boats  rounding  to,  or  sweej)in«,'  away  cast  their  long  hori- 
zontal streams  of  smoke  behind  them,  Sh)ops,  schooners,  brigs,  and 
ships  occupy  the  wharves,  arranged  below  each  other,  in  the  order  of  their 
size,  showing  a  forest  of  niasts.  The  foreign  aspect  of  the  stuccoed 
houses  in  the  city  proper,  tlie  massive  buildings  of  the  Fauxbourg  St. 
Mary,  the  bustle  and  movement  on  every  side,  all  seen  at  one  view  in  the 
bright  coloring  of  the  brilliant  sun  and  sky  of  the  climate,  present  a 
splendid  spectacle. 

The  wooden  buildings,  of  wliich  the  cily  was  formerly  in  a  great  mea- 
sure composed,  have  given  place  to  l)uildings  of  brick.  The  city,  prop- 
erly so  called,  and  the  Fimxbonrg  St.  Mary  arc  compactly,  and  substan- 
tially built.  In  the  city,  tJK'  French  and  Spnnish  styles  of  building  pre- 
dominate. The  houses  are  stuccoed  externally,  and  this  stucco,  of  a 
white  or  yellow  color,  strikes  the  eye  more  pleasantly,  than  the  dull  and 
sombre  red  of  brick.  There  can  be  no  question,  but  the  American 
mode  of  building  is  more  connnodious,  solid,  and  durable;  but  the  latter 
mode  lias  the  preference,  in  its  general  eflect  upon  the  eye.  To  an 
American  viewing  them  for  the  fust  time,  there  is  something  fantastic 
and  unique  in  the  appearance  of  the  city  streets,  which  wears  a  resem- 
blance to  European  French  and  Spanisli  towns,  rather  than  American. 
The  Fauxbourg  St.  Mary,  and  many  other  parts  of  the  city  are  built  after 
the  American  fashion,  and  have  notliing  in  their  appearance,  different 
from  an  Atlantic  town. 

The  city  contains  six  complete  squares;  each  square  having  a  front  of 
319  feet  in  length.  Each  square  is  divided  into  12  lots.  Few  of  the 
streets,  except  Canal  street,  are  more  than  40  feet  wide.  The  names  of 
the  principal  streets  are  Levee,  Chart  res.  Royal,  Burgundy,  Dauphino, 
Toulouse,  &LC.  The  public  buildings  are  the  Town  House,  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Chartres  and  St.  Peter's  streets;  the  Hospital,  standing 
in  the  suburb  St.  Mary,  opposite  the  square,  between  Dauphine  and  Bur- 
gundy streets;  the  Catliedral  church  of  St.  Louis,  in  front  of  Orleans 
street,  upon  Chartres  street;  the  Convent  of  Ursuline  nuns,  upon  Ursuline 
street,  between  Levee  and  CJiartres  streets;  the  Barracks,  upon  Garrison 
and  Levee  streets;  tiie  Custom  House,  in  front  of  the  square,  between 
Canal  and  Levee  streets;  the  Market  House,  upon  the  Levee,  in  front 
of  the  square,  between  St.  Anne  and  Du  Maine  streets;  Orleans  Bank, 
upon  Conti,  between  Chartres  and  Koyul  streets;  Louisiana  Bank,  upon 
Royal,  between  Conti  and  St.  Louis  streets;  Planter's  Bank,  south-west 
corner  of  Conti  and  Royal  streets;    (ioyernmcnt  House,  north-west 


LOUISIANA. 


201 


comer  of  Lcvco  nnd  Toulnuso  strcots;  District  Court  of  the  United 
States,  between  Du  Muinc  and  Pliilli{)pe  streets;  and  the  Water  Works 
on  Levee  street,  in  front  of  tlie  s(|inr(',  l)Ct\veon  Uisidinc  and  St.  Philip 
streets.  A  very  l:irffe  and  nplcndid  building  is  fitted  up  for  the  State 
Bank.  The  French  Theatre  is  in  the  oily  and  the  Aruerican  in  the 
Fauxbourg'St.  Mary.  The  rrcshytorian  church  is  also  in  this  Fauxbourg. 

The  Cathedral  stands  at  the  heiid  of  a  spncious  square,  400  feet  {from 
the  river.  The  buildinif  is  of  brick,  extending  00  foot  on  the  street,  and 
120  back  of  it.  The  roof  is  covered,  as  are  most  of  the  French  and 
Spanish  houses,  with  hollow  tile,  and  is  supported  by  ten  plastered  brick 
columns.  It  has  four  towers,  of  which  one  contains  two  bells.  It  has 
an  organ,  and  is  finished  within  with  great  massiveness  and  simplicity. 
It  is  an  imposing  fabric,  and  the  interior  seems  calculated  to  excite 
religious  feeling.  Under  its  stone  pavements  are  deposited  the  illustrious 
dead.  In  niches  and  recesses  arc  the  figures  of  the  saints,  in  their  ap- 
propriate dress,  and  with  those  pale  and  unearthly  countenances,  which 
are  so  much  in  kec[)ing  with  tlie  common  ideas  entertained  of  them. — 
The  walls  are  so  thick,  that  though  in  the  very  .centre  of  business,  you 
hear  only  a  confused  wliisper  within,  and  are  almost  as  still  as  in  the 
centre  of  a  forest.  You  go  but  a  few  paces  from  tJie  crowds  that  are 
pressing  along  Levee  street,  and  from  the  rattle  of  carriages  thai  are 
stationed  near  this  place,  and  you  find  yourself  in  a  kind  of  vaulted 
apartment,  and  in  perfect  stillness.  The  tapers  are  burning,  and  some 
few  are  always  kneeling  witliin  in  silent  prayer.  Images  of  death,  of  the 
invisible  world,  and  of  eternity,  surround  you.  The  dead  sleep  under 
your  feet.  You  are  in  the  midst  of  life^  and  yet  there  reigns  here  a  per- 
petual tranquility.     A  new  Catliolic  church  has  been  recently  erected. 

The  Presbyterian  church  is  of  brick,  and  is  a  very  largo  and  handsome 
building.  The  Episcopal  church  is  small,  but  light  and  neat  in  its  struc- 
ture. The  Mariner's  church  is  a  respectable  building,  not  yet  completed. 
The  prison  and  the  French  theatre  are  very  large,  and  externally  disagree- 
able buildings,  though  the  coup  (Vcril  of  the  view,  in  the  interior  of  the 
French  theatre  is  very  brilliant.  The  American  theatre,  in  the  Fauxbourg 
St.  Mary,  is  a  neat  and  commodious  building.  The  Charity  Hospital, 
though  not  a  very  beautiful  building,  has  a  moral  beauty  of  the  highest 
order.  It  is,  probably,  one  of  the  most  etlicient  and  useful  charities  in 
the  country.  New  Orleans  is  exposed  to  greater  varieties  o^  human 
misery,  vice,  disease,  and  want,  than  any  other  American  town.  Here 
misery  and  disease  find  a  home,  clean  apartments,  faithful  nursing,  and 
excellent  medicid  attendance.  Under  this  roof  more  miserable  objects 
liave  been  sheltered,  more  have  been  dismissed  cured,  and  more  have  been 
<3arried  to  their  long  home,  than  from  any  other  ligspital  among  us. 


% 


Jm. 


*: 


2C2 


LOriSIAN.V. 


Tlic  CoWopc  in  a  rcspeclablo  builtlintj,  and  has  liatl  ample  endowments*: 
but  lias  done  littlo  us  yet  for  tlio  literature  of  tlio  country.  There  is  a 
convent  of  Ursulinc  niitip,  wlio  receive  d;iy  scholars  and  boarders  for  the 
various  brnnches  of  rudimontnl  education.  Tlic  Female  Orphan  Asylum 
is  a  most  interistinfj  charity,  dalin<,'  its  efllcicnt  ojwrations  from  the 
benevolent  dontitioiis  of  tlie  late  Mr.  Poydras.  It  has  commonly  70  or 
80  destittitc  feiimlo  children,  under  sober  and  discreet  instructresses,  alj^ 
plainly  and  neatly  clad,  and  constantly  occupied,  either  in  acquiring  the 
rudiments  of  education,  or  of  nccdlo  work.  They  are  dressed  in  plain 
uniforms,  and  worship  part  of  the  Sabbath  day  in  the  Catholic,  and  part 
in  the  Protestant  church.  An  institjition  of  a  similar  character  for 
boys,  and  endowed  also  by  the  benevolent  Poydras,  is  now  in  operation. 
There  are  a  number  of  other  charitable  institutions  in  this  city  of 
respectable  character;  and  when  the  epidemic,  yellow  fever,  visits  it,  the 
manner  in  which  the  inliabitants  bestow  charity,  nursing,  shelter,  and 
medical  aid  lo  the  sick  is  worthy  of  all  praise.  A  Library,  for  the  use  of 
the  poorer  rcadini,' young  men  of  the  city,  has  been  instituted,  and  in  the 
extent  of  herefiicient  and  useful  ch'arilies.  New  Orlcafis  is  not  far  behind 
her  Atlantic  sisters.  There  are  fewer  churches  in  the  city,  than  in  any 
other  town  of  the  same  size  in  the  United  States.  There  are  but  three 
Catholic  places  of  worship,  one  Presbyterian,  one  Episcopalian,  a  Mariners 
church,  a  Baptist  and  a  Methodist  place  ofworship.  Very  little^observance 
of  the  Sabbath,  as  northern  ])cople  estimate  it,  is  seen  in  this  city.  It  is 
well  known,  that  the  forms  of  the  Catholic  worship  do  not  forbid  amuse- 
ments on  the  Sabbath. 

No  city  in  the  United  States  contains  such  a  variety  of  inhabitants  from 
every  state  in  the  Union,  and  from  every  nation  in  Europe;  and  there  are 
not  a  few  from  the  Spanish  country,  and  the  islands.  There  is  an  aston- 
ishing contrast  of  manners,  language  and  complexion.  One  half  the 
population  is  black  or  colored.  The  French  population  probably  as  yet 
predominates  over  the  American.  Among  the  Americans,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  city  of  New  York  seem  to  have  tiie  greater  number,  and  there  is 
more  intercourse  between  New  Orleans  and  New  York,  than  any  otlier 
American  city.  The  intercourse  with  Havana  and  Vera  Cruz  is  great, 
and  constantly  increasing. 

The  French  display  in  this  city,  as  elsewhere,  their  characteristic 
urbanity  and  politeness,  and  are  tlie  same  gay,  amiable,  dancing,  spectacle- 
loving  people,  that  they  are  found  to  be  in  every  other  place.  There  is, 
no  doubt,  niucli  gambling  and  dissipation  practised,  and  different  licensed 
gambling  houses  pny  a  large  tax  for  their  licenses.  Much  has  been  said 
abroad  touching  the  profligacy  of  manners  and  morals  here.  Amidst 
such  a  multitude,  composed  in  a  great  measure  of  the  low  people  of  all 


■» 


vS^-- 


liOIJlSIXNA. 


S63 


nations,  tliere  must  bo  nmch  dfhuiulicry  ;iih1  low  vice.  But  all  tlio  dis- 
gusting forms  of  vice,  tl(.'l);nidi(!ry!ui(l  (Iniiikoniioissurcnssorled  together 
in  their  own  place.  E;ich  man  luis  an  elective  uttraclion  to  men  of  his 
«wn  standing  nnd  order.  ,»'4#  '*' 

Much  has  been  said  abroad,  in  rognrd  fo  the  nnlionlthincss  of  this  city, 
and  the  danger  of  a  residence  bore  for  an  nnaccliinalcd  person,  has  been 
exaggerated.  This  circumstance,  more  than  all  oliieis,  has  retardrd  the 
increase  of  this  city.  Unhappily,  when  llio  doi,'  star  is  in  the  sky,  there 
is  but  too  much  probability,  that  the  epidemic  will  sweep  the  place  with 
the  besom  of  destruction.  Hundreds  of  the  unacclimatod  poor  from  the 
north,  and  more  than  all  from  Ireland,  fall  victims  to  it. 

The  s\)pply  of  the  excellent  water  of  the  Mississippi,  by  the  water  works 
now  in  operation,  is  very  inadequate.  It  is  contemplated  to  extend  the 
'means  of  supply.  No  city  in  llic  Union  can  bo  furnished  more  cheaply 
and  easily.  Were  the  supply  equal  to  washing  the  streets  in  every  direc- 
tion, it  would  tend  more  to  the  preservation  of  the  public  health,  in  all 
'probability,  than  any  other  conservative  means  that  could  be  employed; 
and  it  is  matter  of  surprise,  that  such  a  simj)le  and  obvious  measure  has 
not  already  been  adopted.  It  is  believed,  that  every  street,  which  has  the 
•least  inclination  of  descent,  might  be  kept  clean  by  the  healthy  water  of 
the  Mississippi  at  a  less  expense,  than  is  re(]uisite  for  watering  Cincinnati. 
Very  great  improvements  have  been  recently  made,  and  are  r^nstantly 
making,  in  paving  the  city,  in  removing  the  wooden  sewers,  and  replacing 
them  by  those  of  stone.  Tlie  low  places,  where  the  water  used  to  stagnate, 
are  drained,  or  filled  up.  Tracts  of  swamp  about  the  town  are  draining, 
•or  filling  up;  and  this  work,  constantly  pursued,  will,  probably,  contribute 
more  to  tlie  salubrity  of  the  city,  than  all  the  other  efforts  to  this  end 
united. 

The  commerce  of  this  city  is  immense,  and  constantly  increasing. — 
There  have  been  counted  in  the  harbor,  1,.'')00  flat  boats  at  a  time.  Steam 
boats  are  coming  and  departing  every  hour;  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
see  50  lying  in  the  harbor  at  a  time.  A  forest  of  masts  is  constantly  seen 
along  the  levee,  except  in  the  sultiy  montiis.  Tliere  arc  often  5  or  (),000 
boatmen  from  the  upper  country  here;  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
see  40  vessels  advertised  for  Liverpool  and  Havre.  No  place  in  the 
United  States  has  so  much  activity  and  bustle  of  conunerce,  crowded  into 
80  small  a  space  in  the  months  of  February  and  March.  During  the 
season  of  bringing  in  the  cotton  crop,  whole  streets  are  barricaded  with 
cotton  bales.  The  amount  of  domestic  exports  from  this  city  exceeds 
twelve  millions  of  dollars  a  year,  being  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
city  of  the  Union,  except  New  York,  and  nearly  equalling  that.  The 
greatest  items  that  make  this  amount,  are  sugar  and  cotton. 


■^f 


w 


^  ■■  L 


304 


LOL'I«!I\N.\. 


^\ 


It  is  l)clit' vo<l,  lint  it  will  not  bo  Iwiirr,  hr-forr  llio  ^loatand  opulent  ciiy 
of  New  Orleans  will  coinrucnce,  on  a  scnlu  coniinonsurato  with  her  re- 
sources antl  nnlrr|Misi',  a  syst('ti>ol"  rocliirnin;,'  llie  ininicnso  swunipa,  in 
the  midst  of  which  slio  is  placed,  hy  naviyahlo  canals. 

Notwithsfandin^r  Ihc  diya(lvantiif,'0  of  Ijcinj,'  reported  unhealthy,  few 
towns  in  the  United  States  increase  witii  «(reatcr  rapidity.  Within  tho 
last  three  years,  a  tlionsandlioiiscs  have  been  added  to  its  buildings,  prin- 
cipally fronting  along  the  river  in  the  J'\ui.\I)ourg  St.  Mary,  most  of  them 
massive  and  commodious.  The  recently  finished  rail  road  from  Rampart 
street  to  LakePoncharlrain  is  not  only  in  itseifa  n(jble  and  useful  workj 
but  has  essentially  tended  to  reclaim  from  the  swamp  a  considerable 
tract  in  the  rear  of  the  city.  A  lluiic  has  recently  been  created,  with  a 
capital  of  4,000,000  dollars,  which,  as  the  condition  of  the  charter,  is  to 
make  a  canal  from  a  point  on  the  river  above  flic  city  to  the  lake.  There 
are  five  Banks  in  the  city,  with  a  capital  of  more  than  ten  millions  of 
dollars;  and  it  is  advancing  in  all  jjoints  of  opulence,  ornament,  utility, 
and  comfort  in  a  progress  of  honorable  competition  with  the  other  principal 
American  cities. 

The  Rail  Road  is  four  and  a  half  miles  long,  perfectly  straight,  and  its 
ascent  and  descent  only  10  inches.  The  avenue  on  which  the  roadruns, 
is  150  feet  wide.  Tlie  eye  at  either  extremity  traverses  its  whole  length. 
Standing  on  the  shore  of  the  ]\lississii)pi,  the  vessels  sailing  through  tho 
Jake  are  seen  at  the  end  of  tho  avenue  of  trees,  through  which  the  road 
is  cut.  An  artificial  harbor  and  breakwater  arc  constructing  on  the  lake 
at  the  extremity  of  the  road. 

'  The  facilities  of  getting  a  passage  from  this  city  cither  to  Europe, 
Mexico,  the  Atlantic  cities,  or  tlio  interior,  are  very  great.  You 
need  seldom  remain  many  days  williout  an  ojjportunity  to  embark  in  any 
direction.  Steam  boats  arc  constantly  advertising  for  Louisville,  and  all 
the  different  points  on  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio;  and  a 
passage  in  the  beautiful  steam  boats,  that  now  ply  on  these  waters,  is  both 
rapid,  cheap,  and  delightful. 

The  market  ordinarily  is  cheap  and  abundant ;  and  by  seizing  the  oppor- 
tunities, the  articles  of  life  may  be  had  as  cheap  as  in  any  other  town 
in  the  United  States.  Corn,  potatoes,  pork,  and  Hour  are  sometimes 
so  low,  as  scarcely  to  pay  the  cost  of  transport  from  the  upper  country. 
The  productions  of  all  climes  find  tlicir  way  hither;  and  for  fruits  and 
vegetables,  few  places  can  exceed  it.  On  a  pleasant  March  morning, 
perhaps  halftlie  city  is  seen  in  the  market.  The  crowd  covers  half  a  mile  in 
extent.  The  negroes,  mulatloes,  I'rencii,  Sptinish,  and  Germans  are  all 
crying  their  several  articles  in  their  several  tongues.  In  the  midst  of  a 
confusion  of  languages,  like   that  of  Babel,  '«n  picalion,  un  picalion^ 


'•V.' 


■«.'\ 


tOtfflMNA. 


snf) 


IS  1li«  ni'^st  (listln^uislmblc  tuno.  Tlio  census  of  ISHO  gives  this  city 
lH,\-^^i  inli'bitiiiits;  but  tlicro  are  times  in  the  yc.ir,  wiion  it  contaijis 
perhaps  (M),0(K). 

This  city  necessarily  exercises  ii  very  prcnt  moral  influence  over  all  the 
western  country.  There  is  n(»  distinpfuislied  nicrchnnt,  planter,  (fr 
firmer,  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  but  what  has  made  at  least  one  trip  to 
this  place.  Here  they  witness  ncting  at  the  French  ami  American  the:itr»>B. 
Here  they  go  to  inspect,  if  not  to  take  part  in  the  pursuits  of  thc^roulette, 
and  temple  of  fortune.'  Hero  they  couk;  from  the  remote  and  isol  ited 
points  of  the  west  to  see  tin;  ^city  lioim,''  and  learn  the  ways  of  men  in 
great  towns;  and  they  necessarily  carry  back  an  impression,  from  what, 
they  have  seen  and  heard.  It  is  of  inconceivable  im()ortunce  to  the 
western  country,  that  New  Orleans  should  be  eidightened,  moral,  and 
rehyious.  It  has  a  numerous  and  respectable  corjw  of  professional  men, 
and  issues  a  considerable  ninnborof  well  edited  pipers. 

The  police  of  the  city  is  at  once  mild  and  enei  irntic.  Notwithstanding 
the  multifarious  character  of  the  i»eo|»le,  collected  from  every  country 
and  climate,  notwithstandinif  the  rnnltiludeof  botitmen  and  sailors,  not- 
withstanding the  mass  of  people,  that  rushes  along  itsslreets,  is  of  the 
most  incongruous  materials,  there  are  fower  broiln  .'inH  qu.irrels  here,  thuu 
in  almost  any  other  city.  The  municipal  and  criminal  courts  are 
prompt  in  administering  justice;  and  larcenies  and  broils  are  eHecuially 
punished  without  any  just  grounds  of  complaint  about  the  'law's  delay.' 
On  the  whole  the  morals  of  those  people,  who  profess  to  have  any  degree 
of  self-respect,  are  not  behind  those  of  the  other  cities  of  the  Uni«)n. 

New  Orleans  is  1203  miles  from  Washington,  832  from  St.  Louis, 
1634  from  Boston,  and  1428  from  New  York. 

Donaldsonville,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  at  the  efflux  of 
Lafourche,  90  miles  above  New  Orleans,  has  a  number  of  houses,  and  has 
been  selected  by  the  Legislature,  as  the  place  (or  the  future  political  cap- 
ital of  the  state.  Baton  Rouge  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  Mississippi, 
140  miles  above  New  Orleans.  It  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  last  bluft" 
that  is  seen  on  descending  the  river.  The  site  is  30  or  40  feet  above  the 
highest  overflow  of  the  river.  This  bluff  rises  from  the  river  by  a  gentle 
and  gradual  swell.  The  United  States  barracks  here  are  built  in  a  fine 
style,  and  are  supposed  to  be  among  the  handsomest  and  most  commodious 
of  that  kind  of  works.  From  the  esplanade  the  prospect  is  delightful, 
including  a  great  extent  of  the  coast,  with  its  handsomest  houses  uid 
rich  cultivation  below,  and  commanding  an  extensive  view  over  the'back 
country  at  the  east.  The  villige  is  tolerably  compact,  and  has  a  number 
of  neat  houses.  The  town  itself,  especially  in  the  months  when  the 
greatest  verdure  prevails,  when  seen  from  a  steam  boat  in  the  river,  rising 

31. 


906 


liOirtfifANA. 


with  micli  n  fine  fmcll  from  tlio  linnks,  nnd  xviili  its  sin^nlurly  blinpri) 
French  nnd  Spminh  houses,  and  itn  Rrrrii  nqunrcy,  lookn  like  a  finely 
fainlcd  liindsaipc.     Its  population  is  rntoil  at  ly'iOO. 

St.  Fr  .ncisvillo  is  a  considerable  villajje,  Hitiiatcdon  the  enstcm  shore 
of  the  river,  and  on  a  blurt*  a  mile  from  its  iKinks;  i^  KM)  miles  above  New 
Orleins.  It  is  a  thriving  villnpc  of  nearly  the  8  une  size  with  Btlon 
K«  nge.  A  weekly  p  ipor  is  printed  here,  and  B  lyou  Sirah,  by  which  tlif 
town  communicates  with  the  MisHistiippi,  is  a  noted  stopping  pi  eo  for 

descending  boats,  and  grout  quantities  of  cotton  nre  shipped  from  it 

At  a  considerable  distnncc  west  of  this  town  is  J  ckson,  in  a  he  dtliy 
position  in  the  Pino  Woods,  which  is  the  seat  of  an  incipient  college. 

On  the  opposite  shore  is  Point  Coupee,  a  wealthy  French  settlement 
Here  the  levee  commences,  and  extends  thence  to  New  Orleans.  Here 
lived  and  died  Mr.  Poydras,  celebrated  for  his  wealth  and  benevolence. 
He  endowed,  as  we  have  remarked,  asylums  in  New  Orleans,  and  left 
many  other  charitable  donations;  and  among  others,  the  proceeds  of  :i 
very  considerable  property  to  be  distributed  in  naurringe  portions  to  a 
mimberof  poor  girls  in  the  parish  of  Point  Couiiec,  and  in  the  adjoining 
parishes. 

Galveztown  is  situated  on  Rayon  Manshac,  or  Ibberville,  not  far  from 
where  it  enters  lake  Ponclmrirain.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Tangip;io  is  the 
village  of  Springfield.  Madisonville  is  a  small  village  on  the  Chifiunctc, 
two  miles  from  the  north  shore  of  lake  Ponchnrtrain.  It  is  a  place  ol' 
considerable  summer  resort  from  New  Orleans,  during  the  sickly  months. 
There  are  a  number  of  handsome  houses  of  accommodation  for  such  per- 
sons. A  navy  yard  was  attempted  by  the  government  on  this  river,  a  few 
miles  above  this  village.  Covington  is  a  considerable  village,  seven  miles 
above,  on  the  Bogue  Falaya,  a  branch  of  the  Chiflimcte.  It  is  the  scat 
of  justice  for  the  parish  of  St.  Tammany,  and  is  the  head  of  sch<  oner 
navigation  on  tl»c  river.  Considerable  cotton  is  shipped  from  this  place. 
General  Jackson's  Ro:id,  reaching  from  lake  Ponchartrain  to  Nashvillo, 
passes  through  this  place.  Like  Madisonville,  it  is  a  place  of  resort  for 
the  citizens  of  New  Orleans  during  the  sickly  season.  Opelousas,  tlu; 
scat  of  justice  for  the  parish  of  that  name,  is  a  rising  village  in  the  midst 
of  a  respectable  and  compact  settlement,  270  miles  northwest  from  New 
Orleans.  A  weekly  gazette  is  issued  from  this  place.  St.  M.irtinsvillo. 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Teche,  is  surrounded  by  a  settlement  of  opulent 
planters.  New  Iberia  is  also  on  the  west  side  of  tlie  Teche,  and  being  at 
the  head  of  schooner  navigation,  in  a  ricii  and  flourishing  country,  must 
eventually  become  a  place  of  importance. 

Alex  ndri  I,  on  Red  River,  70  mi  Ins  from   the   Mississippi,  and   l;')!* 
from  the  mouth  of  the  river  by  its  meanders,  is  situated  on  the  south  lunik 


LU»ISIANA« 


207 


of  i}i«  river,  n  Imlf  amilo  below  the  fill,  iit  thr  mouth  of  Biyou  R"pi(le. 
If  jH  centriil  to  the  rich  cotton  plnntinf;  country  of  B'lyntis  Rxpulo, 
Rol)crt,  and  PAWuf.  It  is  the  w^at  of  justice  for  the  pirish,  hati  a  Bmk, 
isniM'H  I  weekly  i.apcr.  \v\b  a  number  of  stores,  and  rcspcct-ible  attoriiics 
aixl  pliyBicians  T!i<  site  of  the  town  isa  beaulifid  phiin,and  tiievill  *ge 
in  <tiiho8omcd  in  China  and  other  ornaniuotal  troes.  Vast  quantities  of 
cotton  ai«  exported  from  this  pluco.  » 

Niitchitoches  is  SO  miles  above  Alexandrii, by  the  meanders  of  tho 
river,  imd  somethinp  more  than  (JO  by  Ind.     Tho  river  is  hero  divided 
into  two  parallel  bnnches,  and  the  town  is  on  the  soutii  bank  of  the 
Boiiihern  brmch.     It  is  the  I;i8t  town  of  any  size,  towards  tho  south- 
vvi  storn  frontier  of  the  United  States,  and  is  nearly  50  miles  eiist  of  th» 
Si'mio,  to  which  there  is  a  jjood  road   from   this  place.     Tho  Spanish 
tr  I'r,  for  a  considerable  distance  into  the  mterior  of  tho  Mexican  States, 
centres  iiere;  and  it  is  the  great  thorougli-fart!  for  jieople  going  to,  jn(J 
returning  from  those  statcH.     The  trade  from  them  is  chiefly  in  bais  of 
^ilver,  and  horses  and  mules.     We  send  them  in  return,  manufactured 
goods,  groceries,  spirits  and  tobacco.     It  is  a  very  old  town,  having  been 
cstiblished  an  hundred  years  ago.     There  are  many  French  and  S^naish 
houses,  and  a  considerable    nutnbcr  of   Spaniards  still    inhabit  it.— • 
It  is  a  village  considerably  larger  than  Alexandria.     The  population  iS 
American,  French,  and  Spanish;  and  bus  a  sprinkling  of  Indian  with  it; 
and  there  is  a  singular  mixture  of  all  these  races  visible  in  tho  common 
people.     Thero  are  many  respectable  families  here;    and  tho  opulent 
planters  have  houses  in  the  town,  for  the  s.ike  of  society.     Tho  people 
are  excessively  fond  of  balls  and   dancing.     It  has  a  pleasant  society, 
and  a  weekly  newspaper,  in  French  and  English.     The  rel;iiions  of  this 
place  with  the  immense  country  on  the  river  above,  and  wiili  the  interior 
of  tl»e  Spanish  country,  must  necessarily  be  ex  .ended.     It  is  at  present  o, 
growing  place,  and  will  one  d  ly  become  the  largest  town  in  this  country, 
except  New  Orleans.     It  is  beautifully  situated  on  tho  shore  of  the  river, 
and  extends  back  to  the  pine  bluffs,  on  which  there  are  already  some 
livndsome  houses.     It  is  at  the  head  of  steam  boat  navigation.     This 
pixc  has  experienced  the  successive  regimes  of  the  savages,  the  Spanish, 
French,    and   Americans,  and   has  had   its  war  dances,   fandangoes^ 
Frtnch  balls,  and  American  frolics.     The  traces  of  the  ancient  grave 
y;ird  arc  almost  erased.     Indians,  Spanish,  French,  Americans,  CMholics 
and  Protestants,  lie  here  in  mingled  confusion.     Two  or  three  leagues 
west  of  this  town  is  the  ancient  Spanish  town  of  Adayes.     We  can 
(5ec  no  where   in  the  United  States  so  fair  a  sample  of   an  ancient 
Spuiis'.    town,  as   this.     Tlie  houses  are  of  the  construction  of   an 
-hundred  years  ago.    A  little  old  churcli,  witli  tluce  or  four  bs  Us,  some 


im 


4 


liOUISIANA. 


of  them  cracked,  and  some  course  paintings  give  the  church  an  air,  ig 
keeping  with  the  town.  The  inhabitants  are  all  Spanish.  Beyond  this 
is  the  deep  gully,  called  the  Rio  Hondo,  which  marked  the  limits  of  the 
Spanish  cl  ims  east  of  the  Sabine.  Half  wny  between  Natchitoches  and 
the  Shine  is  Cantonment  Jessup,  where  are  stationed  two  companies  of 
Unilod  States'  soldiers.  The  station  is  lonely,  but  pleasant  and  healthful, 
The  ',v;'ter  from  the  esplnnnde  runs  from  its  western  slope  into  the  Sabine, 
and  from  the  other  into  Red  River. 

This  region  being  the  list  point  towards  the  Mexican  country,  it  is  not 
slrmge,  that  it  should  be  the  resort  of  desperate  and  wicked  adventurers, 
who  fly  from  debt,  poverty,  the  laws  and  a  guilty  conscience.  Many 
lawless  characters  centre  in  it. 

On  B'VO"  BoBuf  there  is  a  small  village  called  Cheneyville.  The 
town  of  Monroe  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  parish  of  Washita,  and  is 
.situnted  on  that  river,  as  is  also  Harrisonville,  the  seat  of  justice  for 
the  parish  of  Catahoola.  Monroe  is  about  80  miles  north  of  Alexandria, 
in  the  centre  of  a  rich  cotto.i  country,  and  has  a  weekly  gazette. 

Roads  and  Canals.  We  have  already  mentioned  the  canal  CaronSelet, 
which  connects  the  city  of  New  Orleans  with  lake  Ponchirtrain  by  the 
bayou  St.  John.  It  is  two  miles  long  and  perfectly  straight.  Where  it  ter- 
minates at  the  north  of  the  city,  there  is  a  convenient  basin,  exc^ivnted 
entirely  by  art,  and  sufficiently  large  to  hold  a  great  number  of  vessels. 
it  Wi!s  dug  at  a  great  expense.  Immense  labor  and  expense  were  necessary  to 
render  the  Bayou  nnvig'  ble,  and  especit-lly  its  outlet  to  the  hike,  or  what 
is  called  'the  pickets ;'  where  a  formerly  impassable  bar  has  been  deepened, 
and  prevented  from  forming  again  by  the  waves  and  the  currents,  by  piles 
driven  into  the  sand,  and  extended  a  considerable  distance  into  the  lake. 
A  provision  in  the  charter  of  this  corporation  allows  them  to  extend  the 
canal  to  the  Mississippi.  It  is  proposed  to  connect  the  Mississippi,  by 
Attokapas,  by  a  canal,  and  there  is  no  country  in  the  world,  where  nature 
has  done  mort  towards  forming  natural  cnnals,  which  a  little  labor  and 
expense  would  complete  by  artificial  extensions.  A  great  number  of 
B  yous  on'v  need  to  have  the  timber  cleared  out  of  them,  to  be  navigable 
by  steam  boats. 

There  are  a  corporation  and  funds  provided  for  rendering  Bayou  Boeuf 
navigable  by  steam  boats  to  Red  River.  It  would  require  no  great  arti 
ficial  labor  to  connect  this  Bayou  with  liie  Teche,  and  furnish  steam  boat 
navigation  tiirouglj  Opclousas.  Tlie  country  is  so  level,  and  the  winter 
courses  so  interlocked  by  nature,  liiiit  little  more  is  necessary  for  this,  in 
most  instances,  than  the  digging  a  broad  and  navigable  ditch.  At  the 
Bame  time,  that  trrnsport  is  thus  rendered  easy,  the  country  is  drainefl 
swamps  are  reclaimed,  and  health  is  as  much  subserved,  as  utilifv. 


"f 


-'*.    4«" 


LOUISIANA^ 


26» 


Tl 


le 


and  is 


When  this  state  shall  once  hnve  imbibed  the  spirit  and  feeling  of  the 
porMiern  and  middle  states  upon  ihis  subject,  almost  every  cotton  pi  niter 
in  'he  country  will  be  able  to  ship  his  cotton  on  bonrd  a  steam  boat  directly 
from  his  ^in.  The  country  being  level,  the  roads,  that  gener  >lly  run  on 
the  margins  of  the  rivers  and  b;iyous,  are  for  the  most  part  good.  When 
the  roads  diverge  to  iny  distance  from  the  biyous  and  rivers,  they  soon 
touch  the  swampy  soil,  and  in  wet  weather  are  intolerably  deep,  muddy, 
and  heavy. 

Constitution  and  Laws.  The  Constitution  varies  little  from  that  of 
the  other  western  states.  The  state  senators  ire  elected  for  four  years, 
one-fourth  vacating  their  seats  annually.  They  must  possess  nn  est  ;te 
of  1,000  doll'irs  in  the  parish,  for  which  they  are  chosen.  The  represen- 
tatives have  a  bienniiil  term,  and  must  possess  500  dollars  worth  of  prop- 
erty in  the  parish  to  be  eligible.  The  governor  is  chosen  for  four  years  j 
and  is  ineligible  for  the  succeeding  term.  His  duties  are  the  same  as  in 
the  other  states,  and  his  salary  7,000  dollars  n  year.  The  judiciary  powers 
are  vested  in  a  supreme  and  circuit  court,  together  with  a  municipal  court 
called  the  parish  court.  The  salaries  are  ample.  The  elective  franchise 
belongs  to  every  free  white  man  .  twenty  (tne  years  nnd  upwards,  who 
has  had  a  residence  of  six  months  in  the  parish,  and  who  has  paid  taxes. 

The  code  of  laws  adopted  by  this  state  is  not  what  is  called  the  'common 
law,'  which  is  the  rule  of  judicial  proceedmgs  in  all  the  other  states,  but 
the  civil  law,  adopted  with  some  modifications  from  the  judicial  canons 
of  France  and  Spain.  So  much  of  the  common  law  is  interwoven  with 
it  :js  h:!S  been  adopted  by  express  statute,  and  the  criminal  code  is  for  the 
most  part  regulated  by  it.  All  the  laws  of  the  civil  code  purport  to  be 
written,  and  they  are  principally  selected  from  thnt  stupendous  ni  .ss  of 
legal  njaxims  and  edicts,  called  the  Justinian  code.  Parishes  in  this 
state  nearly  correspond  to  counties  in  the  other  states;  and  the  parish 
judge  under  the  civil  code,  and  according  to  the  judicial  arrangements  of 
this  state,  is  one  of  the  most  responsible  and  important  judicial  function- 
aries. 

It  would  be  rather  amusing  than  useful  to  go  into  much  detail,  respect- 
ing the  modes  of  administering  justice  under  the  French  and  Spanish 
regime.  The  commandant,  or  governor-general,  was  at  the  he  'd  of  the 
judiciary  and  military  deportments.  His  code  was  the  Roman  law,  or  that 
of  the  Indies;  and  he  represented  the  king.  The  department  of  finance 
was  administered  by  an  ollicer,  called  the  intendant  general.  The  oflicc 
of  procureur  general  wds  one  of  high  conseqtience;  and  hnd  an  analogy 
to  that  of  our  prosecuting  attornies.  But  of  all  the  tribunals  of  tho 
Spanish  in  their  colonies,  the  most  imporf;int  .'nd  populnr  was  ihc  cahildo. 
Teh  cahildos  awaidctl  tlie  decisions  in  coraraon  civil  suits,  and  were  a 


find 


LOUISIANA. 


kind  of  general  conservators  of  the  peace.  Subordinate  ministers  of  justice 
to  iliem  were  alcaide.f,  rvgklors,  syndic.^,  nd  registers.  Subordin  le  to 
the  dop:irtment  of  finance  were  tlie  contadnrs,  treasurer^  intcvientor^  auditor 
«nd  asscftfior.  Most  of  theso  offices  were  venal,  or  acquired  by  purchase. 
The  processes  were  simple,  but  rigorous,  and  summary;  and  many  of 
tlioir  maxims  of  law  Were  founded  in  the  highest  wisdom  and  equity. 
From  whatever  cause  it  happened,  the  yoke  of  their  government  alw  )y3 
sat  ciisy  on  the  neck  of  the  Anglo-Americans,  who  lived  under  it,  and 

still  spcit.k  «f  Spanish   times  as  the  golden  age.     Crimes  were  rare . 

Thefuref^.thersof  the  present  race  of  Creoles  were  a  mild  ;ind  peaceablq 
laco,  as  are  their  descendents  at  the  present  day.  The  ancient  inhabitants 
attached  more  importance  to  a  criminal  prosecution,  and  felt  more  keenly 
the  sliame  of  conviction,  than  the  inhabitants  of  the  present  d  :y. — . 
Summary  justice,  the  terror  of  the  Mexican  mines,  or  the  dungeons  of 
Havanna  had  tJieir  share  in  producing  this  spirit  of  submissive  quietness 
and  subordination.  The  penal  laws  were  not  more  sanguinary,  than  those 
©f  most  of  the  statas  of  our  Union.  Only  four  crimes  were  declared 
capital.  Persons  sentenced  to  death,  for  the  commission  of  those  crimes, 
often  remained  long  in  the  prisons  of  Cuba,  either  through  the  lenity 
or  caution  of  the  officers  of  justice.  The  code,  under  which  Governor 
O'Reilly  administered  justice,  is  a  most  singular  specimen  cf  jurispru- 
dence. Among  the  most  frequent  crimes  against  which  it  provides, 
«re  crimes  of  lust  commited  by  priests,  or  professed  religious,  and  the 
heaviest  punishments  tliose  annexed  to  those  crimes.  Tliere  are  enum- 
erated some  amusing  cases,  in  which  pecuniary  mulcts  are  substituted 
for  corporeal  punishment,  in  instances  of  ■  jnviction  for  these  crimes. 

Character.  If  any  distinct  national  character  can  be  predicated  of  the 
people  of  this  state,  it  will  apply  with  the  same  shades  of  difference  to  all 
(he  people  of  the  south-western  states.  We  consider  the  Creoles  generally 
a  mild  and  amiable  people,  with  less  energy  and  less  irascibility,  than  the 
immigrants  from  the  other  states.  The  descendants  of  tlie  French  have  all 
tlie  peculiar  and  distinctive  marks  of  that  people  in  all  countries.  They 
possess  mild  vivacity,  and  show  rather  the  ingenuity  of  successful  imita*. 
tion,  than  the  boldness  and  hardihood  of  inventive  minds.  The  parents 
of  tlie  present  race  were  insulated  from  the  rest  of  the  world;  were 
plunged  in  the  woods;  had  no  object  of  ambition ;  no  political  career 
before  them;  and  they  were  content  to  hunt^make  voyages  in  their  canoes; 
uad  smoke  and  traffic  with  the  savages.  Many  of  them  knew  neitlier 
fo  rend,  nor  to  write.  It  is  otherwise  with  their  descendants.  They  are 
^^'enerally  born  to  fortunes;  have  a  career  before  them,  and  are  jarly 
laugiit  to  perc(  ivo  tiie  neces'";y  of  being  educated;  and  the  children  of 
Ilc  Prcnch  arc  now  ae  genenlly  iusiructed.  as  tliose  of  tiic  AmcricaiAS 


LOUISIANA. 


271 


They  are  fond  of  shows,  the  theatre,  bills  and  assemblies;  arc  extremely 
m)lite;  and  penerally  more  sober  nnd  mor-il,  than  the  Americans.     The 
women  are  remarkable  for  becoming  excellent  wives  and  mothers;  «ind 
are  extremely  domestic  and  economical  in  their  hnbits.     Many  of  llie 
more  wealthy  planters  cross  the  sea  to  spend  the  snmmer,  and  to  edu- 
cate their  children  in  France.     The   American  planters  are  genet,  lly 
high  minded,  iracsible,  social  and  generous;  much  addicted  to  tlie  sport? 
of  the  turf  and  the  gambling  tible.     Tliey  are  fond  of  hunting  and  keep- 
ing large  packs  of  dogt.     Hiivmg  overseers  for  the  most  part  over  their 
plantations,  they  have  mucli  leisure  time  on  their  hands,  and  arc  too  i\\yt. 
to  become  dissipated.     There  is  a  rising  spirit  of  literature,  and  a  di;'po- 
sition  to  read  among  them,  which  will  innocently,  if  not  usofnlly,  and  hap- 
pily employ  many  of  the  hours,  that  used  to  be  spent  around  tlie  gamblii)?'' 
table.     The  people  generally  are  averse  to  care,   deep  thinkmg,  on'i 
profound  impressions;  and  are  volatile,  gay,  benevolent,  easily  exciie'l 
to  joy  or  sorrow;  and  the  common  maxim  in  a  sickly  climate,  whero  lit> 
is  precrrious,  is  '  a  short  life  and  a  merry  one.''     Tliere  is  a  prevalent 
and  fatal  propensity  to  decide  quarrels  and  even  trivial  disputes  1)y  duiils; 
and  many  wanton  and  fatal  duels  occur,  as  one  of  the  deepest  stains  upou 
the  moral  character  of  this   people.     In   many   respects  no  people  ar<^ 
more  amiable.     They  carry  the  duties  of  liospitality  to  groat  lengths,  and 
extend  the  kindness   of  consanguinity  almost  as  far,  as    the  Scotcli 
are  said  to  do.     The  luxury  of  the  table  is  carried   to  great  extent 
They  are  ample  in  their  supply   of  wines;  though  claret   is    gener;.ll} 
^runk.     In    drinking,  the   guests  universally  raise  their  glasses,  and 
touch  them  together  instead  of  a  health. 

No  state  in  the  Union  has  made  more  ample  and  munificent  appropria- 
tions, according  to  its  numbers,  for  the  advancement  of  common  school 
education.  For  this  purpose  eight  hundred  dollars  are  annually  appro- 
priated  in  every  parish  in  the  state.  But  the  act  of  appropriation  is 
darkly  worded.  The  application  of  appropriations  is  indistinctly  defined ; 
and  it  is  much  to  be  feared,  that  the  generous  purpose  of  the  laws  has 
not  yet  produced  the  fruits  that  were  intended  to  grow  from  it.  There 
are  in  the  state  many  professional  characters  of  high  respectability.  So- 
cial libraries  are  introduced  into  many  of  the  villages.  The  improving 
spirit  of  the  age  is  doing  much  for  them.  The  rapid  communication  by- 
steam  boats  brings  the  luxuries,  comforts  and  improvements  of  society 
immediately  to  their  doors,  and  Jong  with  them  more  refinement,  a 
higlier  order  of  thought,  and  better  tone  of  feeling.  The  influence  of  this 
course  of  things  upon  'he  moral  hnbits  of  the  pi,  nters  is  v.ry  perceptible, 
in  introducing  more  liberal  pleasure?,  niore  innocent  modes  of  spending 


1 


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£DtTISI\N\. 


their  time,  and  especially,  and  above  all,  more  enlightened  humanity  and 
policy,  in  their  wys  of  managing  their  sl.ives. 

Religion.  The  cathohc  is  the  predominant  religion  of  Louisiana.  There 
are  catholic  churches  in  all  the  considerable  villages.  But  there  is,  pro- 
bably, less  protestant  worship,  in  proportion  to  the  numbers,  than  in  any 
other  state  in  the  Union.  We  know  of  but  one  presbyteritin  church  in 
the  state;  and  that  is  in  New  Orleans.  The  b;iptists  have  sone  societies; 
and  the  methodists  have  labored  here  with  the  s.me  zeal,  us  in  other 
places  They  have  a  number  of  societies,  and  >some  very  respectablo 
members  in  the  state. 


.1;t 


^-  m 


•  _,^^ 


111 


# 


ARKANSAS  TERRITORY. 


Greatest  lengtli,  500  miles.  Medial  length,  300.  Breadth  240.  It 
•contains  more  th;ui  130,000  s(]uare  miles.  Between  33°  and  36°  30'  N. 
latitude;  and  13°  and  23°  W.  longitude  from  Washington.  Bounded 
North  by  Missouri  and  the  territory  beyond;  East  by  the  Mississippi, 
which  separates  it  from  Tennessee  and  Mississippi. — South  by  Louisiana 
and  the  Mexican  states.  West  by  those  states.  It  was  erected  into  a 
territorial  government  in  1810,  and  contains  25,667  whites,  and  4676 
blacks,  total  30,383.  The  limits  of  this  great  region  are  strongly  dpfir.cd 
by  physical  and  geographical  lines.  These  lines  are  for  the  most  part 
large  rivers,  and  the  ocean  of  prairies  beyond. 


Counties. 
Arkansas, 
Chicot, 
Clark, 
Conway, 
drawford, 
Crittenden, 
Hempstead, 
Independence, 
Izard, 

La  Fayette, 
Lawrence, 
Miller, 
Monroe, 
Phillips, 
Pope, 
Pulaski, 
St.  Francis, 
Sevier, 
Union, 

Warm  Spring, 
Washiimton. 


CIVIL   DIVISIONS. 

Chief  Towns. 
Arkansas  Post, 
Villemont, 
Clark  C.  H. 
Ilarrisonburgh, 
Crawford  C  H. 
Greenock, 
Hempstead  C.  II 
Batesville, 
Izard  C.  II. 
La  Fayette  C.  H. 
Jackson, 
Miller  C.  H. 
Jacob's  Staff, 
Helena, 
Scotia, 
Little  Rock,  or  Acropolis, 
Franklin, 
riraclifta, 
Corea  Fabre, 
Warm  Spring, 

35 


Distance  from  Acropolis, 
136 
184 

87 

40 
136 
168 
130 
102 
172 
182 
152 
228 

84 
124 

81 


168 


60 


274 


ARKANSAS    Ti;UlUTOUV. 


Acropolis  is  10(5R  miles  from  Washington,  ryj2  from  New  Orlfans, 
and  397  from  St.  Louis. 

Face  of  the  country.     In   this  view   Arkansas  is  an  epitome  of  the 
world.     For  some  distance  up  the  waters  of  Arlvunsas  and  ^VJlito  Rivers, 
the  country  is  an  extensive  heavily  timbered  and  deeply  inundated  swamp, 
Near  the  St.  Franeis  hills  and  at  Point  Chico,  the  eastern  front  along  the 
Mississippi  is  above  the  overflow.     The  remainder  of  the  eastern   line  is 
a  continued  and  monotonous  flooded  forest.     It  has  large  and  level  prairie 
plains.     It  possesses  a  great  extent  of  rocky  and  sterile  ridges,  and  no 
inconsiderable  surface  covered  with  mountains.     Perhaps  no  section  of 
our  country  is  more  diversified,  in  regard  to  its  surface.      Its  northern 
line  is  intersected  by  a  range  of  hills,  wliich  are  commonly  denominated 
^The  Black  Mountains,''  a  line  of  elevations  running  from  Black  River 
to  the  western  extremity  of  the  territory,   and  separating  between  the 
waters  of  White  River  and  Arkansas.     There  are  ranges  of  hills,  that 
have  the  name  of  mountains,   which   separate   the  waters   of  Arkansas 
from  those  of  Washita.     Near  the  Warm  Springs  these  ridges  spring  up 
into  elevated  peaks,  which  in  the  eye  of  a  visitor  at  the  Springs,  from  the 
level  country  of  Louisiana,  have  the  aspect  of  lofty  mountains.     At  the 
south-western  extremity  of  the  territory,  there  are  three  parallel   ranges 
of  hills,  that   divide  the  waters  of  Red  River  from  those  of  Washita. — 
Therp  are,  also,  many  detached  hills  and  flint  kno])S.     On  some  of  these 
is  found  the  whortleberry  ^vaccinwni'  of  the  north  in  great  perfection  and 
abundance.     These  hills  exhibit  red  cedars  and  savincs,  such  as  grow  on 
hills  of  a  similar  appearance  on  the  Atlantic  shore.     In  the  central  parts 
of  the  territory,  and  intermediate  between  Arkansas  and  Washita  rivers, 
on  the  waters  of  the  latter,  is  that  singular  detached  elevation,  called 
'Mount  Prairie.'     On  the  waters  of  White  River  and  St.  Francis,  the 
country  generally  is  rolling.     But,  take  the  extent  of  the   territory  to- 
gether, it  is  either  very  level  or  very  hilly.     In  some  places  the  hills  rise 
at  once  from  level  prairies  and  plains.     A   very  considerable  portion  of 
the  country  is  broken  land,   and  unfit  for  cultivation.     A  great  part  of 
the  'barrens'  of  this  state  are  what  tlieir  name  imports.     There  are  four 
considerable  detached  bodies  of  good  upland.     But  it  may  be  assumed  as 
a  general  fact,  that  the  high  prairies  and  timbered  lands  are  sterile.   That 
part  of  the  course  of  the  Washita,   which   runs  in    this   territory,  has 
narrow,  though  in  some  places  rich  bottoms.     Here  are   cane   brakes, 
birch,  maple,  holly,  and  muscadine  grape  vines.     The  lender  soil  on  the 
banks  is  often  torn  away  by  the  sweeping  and   rapid  course  of  the  full 
river.     Rugged  hills,  covered  with  stinted  pines  and  cedars  come  in  close 
to  the  river;  and  the  valley  is  fo  deep,  and  its  boundaries  so  abrupt,  that 
the  sun  is  seen  but  a  few  hours  in  the  da  v. 


11.1 


AllKANSAS    TrnniTOUY. 


275 


ral  parts 
a  rivers, 
called 
ncisj  the 
tory  to- 
lills  rise 
ortion  of 
part  of 
ire  four 
umed  as 
That 
cry,  has 
brakes, 
I  on  tlie 
the  full 
in  close 
pt,  that 


There  is  a  large  tract  of  country,  on  the  upper  waters  of  White  River, 
which  has  sometimes  heen  denominated  New  Kentucky,  eitlier  from  ita 
U"!in,L' ferlile,  rolliuLT,  and  abundant  in  lime  stone  springs;  or  from  its 
being  more  congenial  to  the  staple  products  of  Kentucky,  than  the  coun- 
try lower  down.  It  is  sheltered  on  thcnorlli  by  mountains,  Tlie  fertile 
tracts  are  vallies  end)osomed  l3etwe('n  liigh  liills;  and  the  productions  of  the 
north  and  the  south  fortlie  most  p;nt  sncc(.>cd  in  this  soil.  It  has  one 
great  inconvenience.  Tiie  stre:.nis,  tliat  run  along  its  precipitous  hills, 
receive  the  waters  of  tlio  powerfid  sliowers  that  occasionally  fall,  and  pour 
these  waters  from  an  liundred  slielving  declivities  into  the  streams. — 
They  have  been  known  to  rise  40  feet  in  perpendicular  height,  in  a  few 
hours.  The  standing  corn  and  cotton  is  submerged ;  and  the  hope  of  the 
year  destroyed. 

JUrm'.  lied  Jliver  has  the  greater  part  of  its  whole  length  of  course 
in  this  territory.  There  is  no  other  river,  of  cipial  length  and  importance 
in  our  country,  about  whose  sources  and  upjier  waters  so  little  is  known 
with  exactness  and  certainty,  as  this.  It  rises  at  the  bases  of  a  line  of 
spurs  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  called  the  Caous  mountains  near  Santa  Fe. 
Jilue  River  and  Fausse  Ouachitia  rise  near  the  sources  of  the  main 
river,  and  join  it  3  or  400  miles  from  its  head  spring.  There  are  a  number 
of  considerable  nameless  tributary  streams  below  these  principal  branches. 
Some  of  them  have  courses  of  between  1  and  200  miles.  The  Pawnees 
'ire  the  principal  inliabitants  on  this  undescribed  part  of  the  river.  Below 
llieir  towns  and  the  limits  of  Louisiana  come  in  Kimichie,  near  which  is 
situated  the  United  States'  garrison ;  Vasseux,  and  Little  River  of  the 
north;  and  on  the  odier  side,  Bois  d'Arc  and  Little  River  of  the  south. 
The  south  bank  of  this  river  for  a  long  distance  is  the  boundary  between 
the  United  States  and  the  province  of  Texas.  Every  traveller  has  re- 
marked, that  this  river  at  the  Kimichie,  nearly  a  thousand  miles  from  its 
mouth,  is  a  broader,  and  apparently  a  larger  stream  than  at  the  point,  where 
it  mingles  'ts  waters  with  the  Washita.  The  reason  is,  that  in  the  hilly 
region  of  the  prairies  it  rolls  along  in  one  channel  a  broad  river,  not  pouring 
its  su'pius  waters  into  bayous  or  lakes.  After  it  enters  Louisiana,  its 
whole  course,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  is  chequered  on  either  hand 
with  numberless  bayous  and  lakes.  We  have  already  mentioned,  that 
its  waters  are  red,  turbid,  and  unpotable,  from  the  impregnation  of  salt 
mixed  with  it.  Above  the  raft,  it  is  a  fme  stream  for  steam  boat  naviga- 
tion. The  country  on  the  American  side  is  diversified  with  prairies, 
woodlands,  hills  and  vallies,  with  a  red  colored  soil.  This  region  is 
healthy  and  pleasant.  It  is  aflirmed,  that  it  produces  good  wheat,  and 
even  productive  apple  orchards.     From   the  abundance  of  peccan  and 


S.J.J4 : 


27« 


AllKANSAS   TF.nniTORY. 


Other  nut  bearing  trees,  it  is  a  fine  country  for  swine,  and  opens  invitintr 
prospects  to  immigrants. 

Washita  rises  in  moimtainoiis  prairies,  iiiterniodinte  betwrrn  Arkansas 
and  Red  Ri  er,  not  fir  from  JU".  TIk;  Fourclic  Caddo,  Little  Missouri, 
and  Saline  riso  at  no  great  distiince  from  tlio  sources  of  the  principal 
Btream.  It  runs  through  a  country,  generally  sterile  and  mountainous. 
Pine,  and  that  species  of  oak  known  in  those  regions  by  the  name  of  pin 
oak,  and  generally  denoting  an  inferior  soil,  are  the  most  common  kinds 
of  timber.  In  the  richer  and  alluvial  tracts  arc  found  the  trees,  common 
to  that  latitude.  That  beauti  fid  kind,  called  Bo  is  (!■  Arc,  is  here  found 
in  greater  abundance,  than  any  where  else  in  our  country.  In  high 
stages  of  the  water,  it  is  navigable  by  steam  boats,  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  Hot  Springs,  that  is  to  say,  a  distance  from  its  mouth  of  nearly  G(K) 
miles.  An  hundred  salines,  some  of  which  are  strongly  impregnated 
with  salt,  are  found  near  the  river.  Its  bottoms  are  very  fei tile,  after  it 
enters  Louisiana.  When  it  unites  itself  with  Red  River,  it  strikes  the 
eye,  as  the  larger  one  of  the  two.  It  has  a  course  of  nearly  eighf  hundred 
miles. 

The  principal  river  of  tliis  territory,  whence  it  derives  its  name,  and 
tlie  next  largest  western  tributary  of  the  IMississippi,  after  the  Missouri, 
is  the  Arkansas.  The  extent  of  this  mighty  stream,  which  is  said  to 
meander  a  long  distance  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  commonly  given  at 
2,500  miles.  This  is  probably  an  extravagant  calculation.  It  is  believed 
that  its  distance  from  a  point,  where  it  has  a  volume  of  waters  to  entitle 
it  to  the  name  of  river,  to  its  entrance  into  the  Mississippi,  measuring  its 
curves,  is  about  2,000  miles.  In  summer  it  pours  a  broad  and  deep 
stream  from  the  mountains  upon  the  arid,  bare,  and  sandy  plains.  The 
sand  and  the  dry  surrounding  atmosphere  so  drink  up  the  water,  that  in  the 
dry  season  it  may  be  crossed,  many  hundred  miles  below  the  mountains, 
without  wading  as  high  as  the  knees.  The  tributary  streams  are  far  from 
being  so  well  known,  as  to  render  them  susceptible  of  an  accurate  de- 
scription. The  chief  of  them  are  the  Verdigris,  Negracka,  Canadian 
Fork,  Grand  River,  Six  Bull,  &c.  Some  of  them  are  remarkable  for 
being  impregnated  with  salt  to  such  a  degree,  that  we  have  tasted  the 
waters  of  the  main  river  so  salt,  as  to  be  unpotable.  The  whole  alluvial 
earth  along  the  banks  is  so  strongly  impregnated  with  sah,  that  the 
cattle  sometimes  kill  themselves  by  eating  it.  For  a  distance  of  many 
hundred  miles  from  its  mouth,  it  receives  no  tributaries  of  any  length  of 
course,  owing  to  the  configuration  of  the  country  through  which  it  passes, 
and  to  the  vicinity  of  Red  River  and  Washita  on  one  side,  and  the  Yellow 
Stone.,  Kansas,  and  Osage  on  the  other.    When  it  has  arrived  witliin  400 


AHKANs v;;  'liinnnonv. 


i>77 


milos  of  tlip  Mis?i.s:^ippi,  il  bfi^aiislon-r.urnr'  ilio  rluirartpr  of  Red  River, 

ill  the  iiiiinbfrs  of  its  b'lyoiis  ami  I'llics.     The  Ix'lt  of  lii;L'li  Itiiul,  between 

tlic  river  and  the  cypress  swamps,  is  l)y  no  iiieaiis  so  wide,  as  that,  on  the 

other  river.     The  aihnial  soil  is  ol'  the  sam(^  cohjrand  tpialitics,  though 

it  is  not  geiieraHy  so  ('■rlile.     It  Ins  a  l)ro:idor  channel,  and  generally  a 

narrower  valley.     ^V"  l-eHe\c  liiat  it  (!oes  not  cnrry  ho  much  water;  and 

tlicr;ipi(Hty  of  its  ordinary   current   is  h'ss.     A\']ien  it  i:-!  fidl,  its  waters 

Jiaveaslill  deeper  color.     Its  enrvi-s.  that  is  to  say,  its  poliits-  and  hfnd.'i 

are  broader  and  deeper.     It  surpasses  the  .Mississippi,  or  any  river  of  the 

west,  in  the  perCeel  regnlarity  of  these,  and  in  the  uniformity  find  beauty 

of  the  young  cfjtton  wood  groves  thnt  .spring  up  on  the  convex  sand  bars. 

In  other  respects,  it  has  a  siuj)!  ising  n^senihlance  to  Red  River.     Arkansas 

has  decidedly  tlic  advantage  in  the  extent  of  its  navigation,     fn  the  spring 

lloods,    steam  boats  can  ascend   it   nearly  to  the  mountains.     The  first 

HO  or  40  miles  of  its  course  is  through  a  heavy,  inundated  forest,  witJk 

very  little  land  snfliciently   above  the  floods,  to  admit   of   cultivation. 

Forty  or  fifty  mil(,>s  of  llie  course  of  the  river  abovo  the  Post,  Bluffs, 

crowned  with  pine,  come  in  to  the  river.     Between  that  distance  and  the 

Post,  only  a  narrow  belt  along  the  river  is  above  the  overflow;  and  even 

through  this  belt  the  river  has  torn  great  numbers  of  crevasses,  through 

which  in  high  floods  its  waters  escape  into  the  swamps.    Directly  beyond 

these  belts  are  gum  trees,  and  other  vegetation  denoting  swampy  soil. 

Beyond  these  are  vast  cypress  swamps;  and  in  all  its  course  from  the 

bluffs  to  the  mouth,  like  Red  river,  it  has  its  net-\Vork  checquering  of 

bayous  and  lakes.     The  lakes,  on  the  subsidence  of  the  river,  are  covered. 

with  the  vast  leaves  of  the  Nymphea  Nelumho.     The  Bayous,  when  filled 

with  the  river  waters  have  the  same  curves  as  the  river;  and  while  the 

river  is  full,  the  same  color;  and,  until  we  observe  their  want  of  current, 

might  easily  be,  as  they  have  a  thousand  times  been,  mistaken  for  the 

river  itself. 

White  River  has  its  sources  in  the  ridge  called  the  Black  Moun- 
tains, which  divides  its  waters  from  those  of  the  Arkansas.  Its  northern 
and  eastern  branches  almost  interlock  with  the  western  ones  of  the  Osage 
Maramec,  and  St.  Francis.  The  western  branches  rise,  and  run  a  long 
distance  in  Missouri.  It  enters  this  territory,  at  its  nordi-western  angle, 
and  receives  the  very  considerable  tribute  of  Black  River,  Thomas'  Fork, 
Red  River,  Spring  Biver  Strawberry,  and  other  streams,  which  run  through 
a  pleasant,  healthy  and  fertile  country,  aliounding  in  pure  springs  and 
brooks,  and  furnishing  great  numbers  of  mill  seats.  Spring  River  is  re- 
remarkable  for  being  formed,  as  its  name  imports,  by  the  junction  of  nu- 
merous large  springs,  that  gush  out  of  the  ground  near  each  other,  which 
form  a  stream,  at  once  wide,  and  beatable  abounding  in  fish,  and,  from 
its  never  f  jezing  near  these  springs  in  the  winter,  being  visited  by 


':i. 
ii.l 


r  I 


H 


ill 


27« 


AHKANHAS    TI.UniTORV. 


great  niimliors  of  wnlor  fowls.  H<lo\v  l!i(>  jiitu  (ion  (»f  llm  wrsfrrn  brancli, 
thoniriin  river  rcci'ivcs  Ucd  Uiver  ilmi  ('<tr/i(r,li\ir('ivok,nn(\  Houni  {t\]iv.ri*. 
It.  is  called  ill  its  Imliiii  ;i|i|i(H;ili()ii  l»y  a  name  Mciidtiri;,' Wliito  river, 
from  tlio  IraiispiinMiey  <>1  i'-<  wati  i>!,  (■onii);ire(l  wiili  those  of  Arkniis.is 
and  the  MiMsissippi.  Ii  is  iincoiiiinoidy  circiiitous  in  its  course,  winding 
three  or  four  hundied  miles  to  make  out;  hundred  in  direct  advance  to- 
wards its  tUboiicJn'.  I(  iiwels  the  inundaliou  of  the  Mississippi  a  i/reaf 
distance  from  it  mouth,  and  makes  the  remainder  of  il^i  course  throui,'h  a 
deep  swamp. 

Ahont  seven  miles  from  ils  mouth  is  a  lateral  hayou,  apparently  of  iho 
width  of  the  river  itself,  whieli  runaout  of  liie  ri\(;r  almost  at  rifjht  angles 
to  its  course.  This  hayou  Mows,  lhrou;jh  a  (h'cp  and  inundated  forest 
six  or  seven  mihs,  and  unites  with  the  Arkansas,  ft  is  not  l)oata!)le  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  sunnner;  hut  in  mo(h>rate  sla^res  jf  tlie  water  is  uni- 
versally used  hy  ho.ils  di'scenchnif  the  iMis^issijipi,  and  intciuling  to 
ascend  the  Arkansas,  in  order  to  reach  that  stream.  It  strikes  thai. 
river  thirty  miles  ahove  its  luoulh.  \\\  this  hayou  the  current  sots 
from  one  river  to  the  oilier,  aceordinif  as  the  flood  of  one  prepon- 
derates over  that  of  the  other.  It  is  three;  hundred  yards  wide  at  its 
mouth.  Its  reputed  hoatalile  leufrtii  is  1,'200  miles;  and  it.s  cotnsc  is  so 
simious,  that  in  this  len<?th  it  only  makes  five  liundred  miles  of  direct 
distance.  Ils  up])er  and  middle  courses  are  thron^Ljh  a  delightful  country 
of  hills  and  vallics,  rich  alluvions  and  j)iire  mountain  streams,  ahound- 
ing  in  lime-stone,  gypsum,  stone-coal,  and  iron  ore.  The  soil  in  many 
places  compares  with  the  hest  parts  of  the  western  country.  From  its 
abundant  timher,  its  useful  fossils  and  earths,  its  mill  streams,  salubrity 
and  facilities  for  a  manufacturing  region,  it  will  probably,  one  day  be- 
come the  seat  of  tlic  mamifacturers  of  this  country.  Its  sheltering  line 
of  mountains  on  the  north,  and  its  fref[ucnt  and  precipitous  hills  secure 
it  from  the  influence  of  the  sharper  air  of  the  Missouri  country  ahove; 
and  cause,  that  in  many  places,  on  the  bottoms  of  this  river  and  its  tribu- 
taries, cotton  is  successfully  cultivated,  as  a  crop. 

St.  Francis  rises  in  Missouri.  Ft  is  formed  from  two  main  branches, 
which  form  their  junction  just  within  the  northern  limits  of  this  territory. 
The  eastern  branch  has  its  source  below  Cape  Girardeau,  and  but  a  few 
yards  from  the  bluff  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  It  receives  the  Wjiitc  Water 
from  the  German  settlement,  in  the  county  of  Cape  Girardeau  ii> 
Missouri,  and  creeps  for  a  great  distance  througli  what  is  called 
tlie  '  Big  Swcniip'^  between  Capo  Girardeau  and  the  mouth  of  tlie  St. 
Francis.  In  this  course  it  passes  within  ten  or  twelve  miles  from 
New  Madrid.  From  this  point  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  a  distance  of 
about  300  miles,  it  used  to  be  boulablc  by  largo  keel  boats;  and,  as  its 
current  was  much  gentler  than  that  of  tlie  Mis^sissippi,  which,  in  tliis  dis- 


AHIiVNSAM    Ti:iM{|TlH»\. 


v»?n 


WIIKlllirr 

o 


ranches, 

erritory. 

Lit  a  few 

e  Water 

dcau  ii^ 

called 

the  St, 

s  from 

ance  of 

1,  as  its 

liis  dis- 


l:iin'«'i  >^  |ur,iili!Mly  swifl  mid  dinicdll  of  ;i«<<iif,  hoiils  for  New  Madrid 
used  to  nitiT  tlir  iiiuiitli  (iflln'  fSt.  l''r!iM(is,  and  work  up  tliat  river  to  a 
|iorl;i;,'(',  ahotit  twtlve  miles  iKick  of  tli:i(  |)l;ue,  iitid  lliciicc;  c:irt  their 
poods  to  that  town.  'I'lio  uro;it  cnrtlKiiiidvo  of  IN  1 1  and '1\J  completely 
ohstrnrted  tlie  chaniicl,  iiid  imindatcd  itH  watera  over  th(!  banks  to 
find  their  way  in  wide  piaslics  tlnon^^di  llio  t*wain|).  A.  vast  nuinher  of 
lakes  and  irreclaiiiia!)l<'  sunken  swamps,  alon<j  the  valley  of  this  river, 
were  created  at  the  same  time.  It  is  iiavi^aMe  in  hijih  waters  nearly 
Wi)  miles.  'J'here  is  a  rcspcclalile  settlement  about  seventy  miles  up  this 
river. — Its  waters,  notwitlistaiidint;'  it  passes  throuf,di  such  an  extensive 
country  of  swamps,  arc  remarkably  pellucid.  It  abounds  in  fine  iish; 
and  we  have  no  where,  except  in  Louisiana,  seen  finer  sport  for  tho  an- 
».der,  than  in  the  St.  I''n\ncis.  In  the  hiuh  lands  on  the  banks  of  this  river, 
there  are  many  deli;;htfnl  and  healthy  positions  for  farmers,  who  desire 
such  a  medial  climate.  It  has  tlu;  disadvaiitayc?  of  beiuf,'  intermediate 
between  the  wheal  and  tlii;  cotton  eonntiy;  but  it  is  believed,  that  it 
would  be  an  admirable  country  ibr  the  vine,  and  the  silk  worm.  It  is 
remarkable,  that  thi.s  river  is  the  northern  limit  of  tho  muscadine  grape 
in  its  natural  state.  There;  are  a  number  of  inconsiderable  tributaries  to 
the  Arkansas,  and  streams,  that  liiive  short  courses,  and  empty  into  tho 
Mississippi  on  the  Arkansas  shore,  that  are  not  here  enumerated. 

Soil  and  Pnxhirf ions.  The  territory  of  Arkansas  i.s  tho  northern  limit 
of  the  cotton  yrouinif  country.  The  rich  lands  on  the  Arkansas  bring 
cotton  of  the  same  staple  and  luxuriance,  as  those  of  Red  River;  but^ 
having  a  season  somewhat  shorter,  it  can  not  ripen  so  well.  Neverthe- 
less tho  planters  assert,  that  even  here  they  can  niisc  more  than  their 
hands  can  '  pick  out,'  as  the  phrase  is;  consecpicntly  they  affirm,  that 
tiiey  loscnothino;  by  the  slunMness  of  their  season.  We  have  seen  as  large 
cotton  growing  ;it  IJairdstown  on  the  Arkansas,  as  we  have  seen  in  any 
other  place.  Cottoii  becomes  an  uncertain  crop  north  of  the  river  St. 
Francis.  As  we  ascend  the  Arkansas  towards  the  hioh  table  nrairies, 
the  temperatme  diminishes  more  rapidly,  than  would  be  indicated  by  the 
latitude;  and  cotton  ceases  to  be  a  sure  crop  beyond  31°  in  that  direc- 
tion. It  is  at  present  the  staple  article  of  cultivation.  The  rich  lands 
bring  fine  maize,  sweet  potatoes,  and  tlie  vegetables  generally  of  Missis- 
sippi and  Louisiana.  In  the  high  country  above  34°  wheat  does  well. 
Rye  and  Barley  will  thrive  almost  in  any  parts  of  the  country.  Mulber- 
ry abounds;  and  on  the  bases  of  tlie  precipitous  hills  of  White  river,  we 
would  suppose,  would  be  the-  Jiapi)iest  soil  and  climate  for  the  vine. 
Muscadine  and />/«c  tvood/.'i  graprs  abound;  as  do  pawpaws  and  per- 
.simons.  Figs  are  raised,  but  with  difficulty;  and  the  tree  is  often  killed 
to  the  ground  by  the  frost.     Peaches  are  raised  in  great  excellence  and 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


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"^   L£    12.0 


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Fhotografdiic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WBT  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MSM 

(716)872-4503 


'^ 


280 


ARKANSAS    TIJIIKITOKV. 


J* 


abuiiduiice.  Ap|»Io  oicliauls  do  well  al.  jMuuiil  I'luiiic,  aiid  in  lliuojxjn 
nndhigli  lands  aljove  Poccau  lV)iiit  oil  Kod  Uivci;  and  no  doubt,  will 
thrive  in  all  the  lii<rlicr  and  more  iKirtlioin  rofrions  ofiliis  tcrritoi  y.  In  the 
lower  and  more  settled  parts  of  it  tliry  liavo  no  whore  succeeded  well. 
Chickasaw  and  prairie  plumbs  fjrow  in  abund:'.ncc;  and  the  woods  and 
prairies  abound  in  native  fruits  and  IxMiics. 

The  soil  is  of  all  fjualities  from  the  best  to  the  most  sterile.     The  set- 
llement  of  Point  Ciiico,  on  the  Mi.<si.ssij)pi,  has  a  soil  of  the  best  quality; 
and  is  noted  for  the  productivenoys  of  its  cotton  plajitations.     The  bot- 
toms of  the  Arkansas  are  not  generally  us  rich,  as  tho.se  of  Red  river. 
The  belt  of  cultivated  land  below  the  Post  of  Arkan.sas,  called  'the  coast,' 
'docs,  indeed,  sonjewhat  resemble  the  delightful  coimtry  so  called  above 
New  Orleans  in  appearance.     The  resemblance  ceases  here.     It  has  a 
soil  of  birt  moderate  richness;  and  needs  manuring  to  produce  large  cot- 
ton, or  Indian  corn.     To  one  emerging  from  the  immdated  and  mephitic 
swamps  below,  this  line  of  open,   contiguous  plantations,  dotted  with 
^autiful  clumps  of  the  fine  trees  of  this  climate,  and  French  habitations, 
which  generally  have  a  very  picturesque  appearance,  and  this  tract,  called 
*tke  coast,''  has  a  charming  appearance.     There  is  a  great  extent  of  cot- 
ton lands  of  the  first  quality  in  the  country  along  the  river,  above  the 
Post,  in  the  '  Quawpaw  purchase.'  The  country  five  or  six  hundred  miles 
up  the  Arkansas,  where  the  American  garrison  used  to  be,  and  that, 
where  it  now  is,  and  the  country,  where  the  Arkansas  mission  is  settled, 
have  large  prairies  interspered  with  forest  bottoms,  and  great  extents  of 
excellent  soil.     There  is  much  fine  country  in  this  territory  above  Peccan 
Point  on  Red  river.  Mount  Prairie,  which  rises,  like  a  prodigious  Indian 
mound,  from  the  subjacent  plains,  may  be  reckoned  among  the  striking 
spectacles  of  the  country.    It  is  tenor  twelve  miles  in  diameter;  and  is 
situated  on  the  waters  of  the  Washita.     It  has  a  soil  of  great  fertility,  and 
of  the  blackness  of  ink;  rather  exposed,  however,  to  'bake,'  as  the 
phrase  is,  in  the  hot  and  dry  weather.     They  obtain  water  from  wells, 
which    require  to  be  dug  of  very  great  depth.     In  the  whole  deptli 
vast  quantities  of  sea  shells  appear.    In  a  state  of  pulverization  they  are 
mixed  witli  the  soil,  communicating  a  mawkish  and  unpleasant  taste  to 
the  water,  and  very  great  fertility  to  the  soil.     On  White  River  are  some 
of  the  finest  lands  and  the  healthiest  sites  for  planters  in  this  country. 
In  short  this  territory  possesses  great  bodies  of  the  best  soil.    There  are 
vast  tracts,  too  of  precipitous  knobs,  sterile  ridges,  sandy  or  muddy  prai- 
ries, and  miserable  barrens.     The  country  on  the  Mississippi,  between 
White  River  and  St.  Francis,  is  in  many  places  above  the  overflow,  and  of 
the  highest  fertility.     Wappanocka  bottom,  opposite  Memphis,  is  an  un- 
commonly high,  rich  and  extensive  bottom.    The  soil  of  the  St  Francis 


;  St  Francis 


ARKANSAS    TERRITOltY. 


281 


IS  very  fertile;  and  is  covered  wilh  :i!icavy  growth  of  bcccli,  generally  de- 
nofiii"  a  rich  soil;  hut  liio  hills  are  so  precipitous,  and  exposed  to  wash 
as  liarilly  to  he  suscoplihle  of  cultivation.  On  tlie  whole,  this  territory 
his  a  sulliciency  of  excellent  lands,  to  become  a  rich  and  populous  state. 
Ill  its  eastern  front,  and  near  the  Mississippi  and  the  Arkansas,  it  is  ex- 
posed to  excessive  annoyance  from  its  myriads  of  musquitos. 

Climate  and  Saluhritf/.  This  climate  is  a  compound  of  that  of 
Missouri  and  Louisiana.  Until  we  advance  200  miles  west  of  the 
Mississijjpi,  in  its  humidity  it  more  nearly  resembles  the  latter.  The 
season,  in  jjoint  of  the  forwardness  of  vegetation  in  the  spring,  is, 
also,  unirh  more  like  that  of  Louisiana.  The  season  of  planting  is  three 
weeks  later,  than  on  the  coast  above  New  Orleans ;  and  is  more  than 
that  in  advance  of  the  climate  of  Missouri. — The  distribution  of  rain  is 
cxtreme'.y  unequal.  We  witnessed  drenching  rains  and  thunder  every 
day,  for  thirty-six  days  in  succession.  At  other  times,  it  is  remarkable, 
for  Jiaviiig  long  droughts.  Phinting  of  corn  conuncnccs  by  the  middle 
of  March,  and  cotton  by  the  first  of  April.  By  this  time  the  forests  of 
Arkansas  arc  in  full  leaf;  and  the  shores  of  no  river  show  a  deeper  tangle 
of  vines  near  the  soil,  and  of  noble  forest  trees  above. 

The  shores  of  Arkansas,  as  far  up  as  Little  Rock,  are  decidedly  un- 
healthy. Great  tracts  on  all  sides  are  covered  with  sleeping  lakes  and 
stagnant  bayous.  The  country  is  a  dead  level.  The  falling  waters  of 
the  rains  cannot  be  drained  oft".  In  the  commencement  of  summer  they 
are  exposed  to  the  intense  ardors  of  the  sun.  Sickness  is  the  natural  re- 
sult. On  the. vast  prairie,  which  commences  just  above  the  Post,  and 
extends  ninety  miles  up  the  country,  it  is  more  healthy;  and  there  is  less 
annoyance  I'rom  the  musquitos.  This  long  sweep  of  country  is  tho- 
roughly ventillated.  But  the  air,  in  the  timbered  bottoms,  is  close,  and 
unelastic;  and  the  musquitos  are  excessively  troublesome.  There  is 
hut  too  often  an  abundant  visitation  of  bilious  and  remittent  fevers  in  the 
latter  part  of  summer  and  the  first  of  autumn.  Farther  up  the  country 
and  on  the  open  prairies,  it  is  as  healthy,  as  in  any  other  country  in  the 
same  climate.  It  is  a  very  absurd  idea,  that  a  country  of  the  extensive- 
ness  of  this  should  all  be  alike  sickly.  In  this  territory  there  are  many 
positions,  but  a  few  miles  apart,  one  of  which  may  be  as  sickly  as  the 
shores  of  Surinam,  and  the  other  as  healthy  as  any  country  in  America. 

Settlements.  The  chief  settlements  on  this  river  are  at  Point  Chico, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Arkansas,  at  Mount  Prairie,  at  Peccan  Point,  on  Red 
River,  and  at  Mulberry,  (iOO  miles  up  the  river,  between  the  mouth  of  White 
and  St.  Francis  rivers ;  and  theAVhite  River,  and  St.  Francis  settlements. 
They  are,  as  most  of  the  settlements  in  the  southern  countries  arc,  from 


» 


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28ii 


AiiK\Ns.\s  'niuniTonY. 


Tf'"% 


!*► 


the  coiifi;,Minifion  of  iIk;  connlry,  in  is<»l;il«(l  niid  ticlacliod  sitti!ili((ii*y 
^'(•nenlly  uith  yicat  «'\fciifs  orimsctllcd  cniiiilry  inlrrvcninir. 

VhUf  Towns.  Tlic  Post  is  a  sm:ill  vill;i<ro  on  llit^  ndrlli  hank  offlio 
Arkansas,  abont  fifty  inilrs  iil)ovo  ils  month.  Tho  position  is  a  kind  of 
hluirhottom,  on  u  lino  l)rnd  of  the  river.  'I'ho  soil  is  poor,  hnt  the  .situ- 
ation ])lcasant.  The  overllow  of  White;  Uivi'r  ajiproatdu's  within  a 
short  dis^tanc«!  of  the  Arkansas:  iind  thc^  .<\vanips  (»f  hoth  rivers  ran  he 
KccnJ'rotn  tJio  conrt  honso  hch»w  tho  vina«,M;  at  tlu*  sain«!  tinu\  J)ir('(;tlv 
ahovi'  the  villa^ft;  a  hayou  is  occasi(»n;illy  innndatcd.  The  dcsctMil  ofilic 
bench,  on  which  the  villam'  is  sitnated,  to  this  l»ayou,  is  marked  with 
some  of  those  striking  red  piMars  of  earth,  where  the  li;.'hter  soil  has  hccn 
washed  uway,  and  h'ft  these  sin^nkir  columns  of  chiy  stanchn^j,  'i'hc 
same  appearances  aro  seen  elsewh(>re  on  the  Arkansas.  'J'hc  inhahitiinis 
of  the  Post  and  its  vicinity  are  chielly  the  lemains,  or  the  descendai!(s.  u\ 
the  first  settU'rs;  and  they  arc;  for  the;  most  part  of  l''r«'nch  <'xtract.  'I'lir 
popidatioii  cannot  exct'cd  six  hundred  in  thi;  villa,',M^  and  the  country 
round  it.  Acropolis  the*  seat  of  <;overmnent  is  at  a  ])oint  abont  ',\[\\] 
miles  by  the  course  oftlio  river,  and  little  more  tha?i  half  the  distance 
by  hmd  ab«»ve  the  Post.  It  is  on  the  south  hank  «>f  the  river,  on  a  vny 
liijjh  stone  blnll',lu(li('rously  called  Lilth"  Hock,  front  the  prod iijious  masses 
of  stone  about  it.  The  situation  is  healthy,  and  pleasajit,  and  the  circniii 
stance  of  its  bein;;  the  metropolis,  has  created  a  c(>nsi(lera!»le  villa;;c. 
There  are  a  number  of  incipient  \illaires,  in  the  places  where  thocoiiMly 
courts  are  Jiehl,  in  other  parts  of  lli(>  territory;  hnt  none,  tliat  merit  the  naiiu' 
of  town,  if  we  except  the^irowini:  villaoi;  above;  tin;  mouth  of  White  Kivtv. 
From  this  j)laco  outlits  are  made  by  boats,  pn'parin^  t«)  as<'entl  White  River 
and  the  Arkansas.     It  is  also  noted  as  a  steam  Ixtat  landini;. 

Amon<,'  the  curiosilii's  of  this  country  may  be;  jn»>nlioued  the;  vasi 
Mjasses  of  sea  shells,  that  arc;  found  dispersed  over  dilli-rent  trails 
of  it.  They  arc  <j;enerally  found  in  jioints  remote  from  lime-sloiir; 
and  answer  a  valuable;  ])nrpe)se  to  the  inhabitants,  whe)  <;e)lle;ct  and 
burn  them  for  lime.  Far  abe)ve  the  pe)lilical  limits  e»f  the  territory, 
and  towards  the  sources  of  the  Arkansas,  is  tin;  sublime  eluvaliejn, 
which  wc  hope  will  alwuys  retain  the  name  of  PikeAs  mountain.  Tlu! 
prairies  are  bounded  in  that  direction  by  the  stniuwulous  rid<.'es  of  the; 
Jleuky  Pflountains.  There  are  very  considerable  me>untains  ne^ir  ili'; 
Warm  Spring::?.  These  sj)rino;s  arc  anion i;  the  most  inteMcstinij  curieisi- 
ties  of  the  country.  The'y  aro  in  errcat  numbers.  One  of  thent  emits  .x 
vast  epumtity  ()f  water.  The  orelijiary  temperature  is  that  of  boiling  water. 
\Vhen  the  season  is  dry,  and  the  \olnme  e»f  water  e-mitted  somewhat  dinu- 
nished,  the  temperature  of  tiie  water  increases.  The  waters  are  remarka- 
bly Jiiiipid,  and  pure;  and  arc  used  by  the  pei»p!o,\vhc  resort  there  for  health, 


''j^, 


ARKANSAS  mKniT.mv. 


'2S'A 


i1  8itna(iofi!'y 


for  nilinurv  purpopori.     TIk-v  liuvi;  li(rii;iM;ilv/.f'«l,  iintl  oxliihit  no  niiiionl 
niu|i»Tlii'sl"'V<»nil   conimuti  ^prin:^'  water.     'I'licir  rllica*  y  llicii,  fur  llu-y 
;iro  tiiuloiililcillv  rHicaciuiis  lo  many   iiuali«ls,    lliat    n-surt  there,  results 
iVciin  the  shade  iif  adjacent  nmiintains,  and  from  the  eool  and  oxyj,'«'naled 
nioinitain  hroeze;  tlie  ((tnveniencesnrwarni  and  tepid  l)athin<r;  lh(5  novc;!- 
jyoflVesh  ni«iiinlain  scenery ;  and  tlu;  incessily  of  teniperance  imjiosed 
hv  lilt'  poverty    of  the  cttnntry,  and  iIk^  (hilicnlly  ofproenrin^'  stipjilies. 
The  cases,  in  whicli  the  wafers  are  snpposed  to  he  «'llicaci(»us,  aro  tlioso 
ofrheninatic  alleelions,  ifenoval   deliihiy,  dispepsia,  and  enlaneoiis  coni- 
phdnts.     Tliu  coniinun  snpposition,  that  they  are  injurious  in  puhnonary 
(•oinplainls,  seems  to  he  wholly  iinl'onndc.tl.     It  is  a  ^freat  ;ind  increasing 
resort  for  invalids  from  tlu;  lower  coiintry,  Arkansas,  and  thi!  dilleriMit  ad- 
joinin;,'  regions.      Dininy'  the  sprin;.'  Ilooils  of  the  Washita,  a  steam  hoiit 
can  approach  within  thirty  miles   «»f  them.     At   no  ;;reat  »listanc(!  froni 
them  is  a  strong' siilphnrsprin;:,  ninarkahle  for  its  coldness.    In  tin;  wild 
and  moimtain  scenery  of  liiis  lonely  re;.'ion,  tlun;  is  nnicli  ^'randiMir  and 
novelty,  to  (ix  tluu-iniosity  of  the  lover  of  nature.    Tliere  ari^no  houses  of 
accommodation,  hut  temporary  sheds.     'J'he  visitants  spend  their  limo  in 
walkin^f,  huntinj,',  and  playiiiy  cards.     Two  miles  from  the  si>rin;.rs  is  tho 
famous  (piarry  of  stone,   <'alled    oil-.sto/ic.     Stones  from  this  <piarry  aro 
already  ext(<nsively  known,  and  used  in  the  western  country,  for  the  samo 
purposes  as  lluiTurki-y  oilstones.     The  point  of  possession  of  this  exten- 
sive and  valualile  (piarry  is  a  malti-r  in  liti;^fation. 

'Vhv.  mountains  in  the  vicinity  ofthe.se  sprin;^s  are  prohahly  volcanic. 
'J'hu  inha])itants  nllirm,  that  they  have  heard  noises  in  tli(;  nei;L,dil)orhood  of 
the  mountains,  like  those  which  attend  volcanic  eruptions.  There  aro 
many  volcanic  appoarsinces  about  them;  llioujfh  none  of  recent  eruption. 
Messrs  Hunter  and  Duuhar  explored  this  country,  and  published  a  detail- 
ed account  of  its  ^fcolonical  formation.  It  exhihils  many  mineral  ap|)ear- 
anccs;  thou^di  no  ores,  hut  those  of  iron,  have  been  detected. 

ImlUuifi.  'J'jie  (Juawpaws,  intcryiixcd  with  many  fugitive  Cliactaw 
Indians,  reside  on  tli(!  Arkansas  not  far  above  tin;  Post.  That  portion  of 
the  ('herok(>e  nation,  which  has  inunigrated  west  of  the  lVli.ssissippi,  lias 
its  cliiof  scitlemcnts  on  the  Arkansas.  Beyond  this  territory  on  White 
Jiiver  arecongrrjjated  the  Shavvnescand  Delawares,  that  have  emigrated 
from  Ohio  and  JSIissouri.  Almvc  t!ic  Cherok(>es,  on  the  Arkansas,  arc 
theOsages;  and  still  higher  the  Pawnees.  In  the  vast  waste  of  prairies 
that  interposes  between  this  territory  and  the  ivocky  Mountains,  roam 
dillerent  tribes  of  Indians,  among  which  aro  often  seen  the  Indians  from 
the  Mexican  country,  who  come  hero  to  hunt  the  bulliilo. 

History.  This  territory  was  erected  out  of  that  of  Missouri,  in  IHIJ); 
and  soon  passed  into  what  is  called  the  second  grade  of  territorial  gov- 


^  t 


?^ 


,,,*^'T 


*•. 


284 


ARKANSAS   TERnTTOnY. 


eminent.  Many  of  tlio  rccont  settlers  were  turbulent  and  unmj»nn(»ea])Io 
.spirits. — There  seems  to  be  aslron«T  tendency  in  Aincrican  laws  and  jn. 
stitutions  to  create  docilily  and  babifs  of  peace.  The  laws  are  adminis- 
tered among  these  people,  strangers  to  llie  country  and  1»>  each  other 
as  quietly  in  most  instances,  as  they  are  in  the  more  populous  and  regu- 
lated regions.  The  inhabitants  about  the  Post  were  settlers  of  the  country 
in  Spanish  times.  Many  anecdotes  of  great  interest  might  be  given  of  in- 
dividuals of  Spanish  and  Indians,  under  the  Spanish  regime.  But  they 
are  necessarily  excluded  from  the  limits  of  this  work.  TJie  Spanish  ami 
French  at  early  dates  in  the  history  of  this  country,  had  establishments  on 
tlie  Arkansas;  and  they  had  a  settlement  at  the  Post,  more  than  a  lialf 
a  century  ago.  No  settlement  from  its  commencement  down  to  tiiis  day 
has  been  marked  with  fewer  incidents. 


..|i/ 


1»- 


'•* 


tfV 


•*r*» 


*?-< 


nanngra1)Jo 
»ws  and  in- 

rftajliiiinis- 
•ach  other, 
s  and  regu- 
lie  country 
?ivenofin. 
But  tlioy 
panisli  and 
limcnts  on 
Inn  a  Jialf 
to  this  day 


^ 


MISSOURI. 


LEXfiTii,  270. — Breadth,  220  miles.  It  contains  G0,000  square  miles, 
and  :i8,()0(),(K)()  acres.  Bi^twccn  lU'P,  and  40°  ao'  N.  latitude,  and  be- 
tween 11°  17'  and  17°  .'JO'  W.  longitude.  Bounded  north  and.west  by 
llic  Missouri  Territory j  east  and  north-east  by  the  Mississippi,  which 
separates  it  from  Illinois.  South-east  by  the  Mississip])i,  which  separates 
it  from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.     South  by  Arkansas  Territory. 


CIVIL  DIVISIONS. 

1 

n 

Counties. 

County  Towns.       Distances  from  Jefferson 

L 

B 

Boone, 

Columbia, 

50  miles. 

Sm 

Callaway, 

Fulton, 

32 

In 

Cape  Girardeau, 

Jackson, 

208 

EM 

Chariton, 

Chariton, 

79 

^H 

^- ..  Clay, 

Liberty, 

190 

il  . 

}*. 

n 

Cole, 

Jefferson  City,^ 

■"..■■■ 

H  'd^^Hj 

Cooper,            • 

Booneville, 

51 

H\^^^ffl 

Crawford, 

Little  Piney, 

97 

;\ 

IB 

Franklin, 

Union, 

79 

^B 

Gasconade, 

Gasconade, 

47 

^B' 

Howard, 

Fayette, 

65 

'B 

Jackson, 

Independence, 

177 

4 

^H 

Jefferson, 

Ilerculaneum, 

164 

91 

La  Fayette, 

-     Lexington,                      -.^ 

138 

iB| 

Lincoln, 

Troy,                        , 

97 

* 

I^H 

Madison,        # 

Fredericktown, 

170 

9B 

Marion, 

Palmyra, 

190 

pH| 

Montgomery, 

Lewistown, 

67 

Mk 

New  Madrid, 

New  Madrid, 

278 

'     I^B 

:  Perry, 

Perryvillc; 

187 

-'f- 

mm 

S" 

^ 

'    1 

V'.             ^..,. 

-** 

11 

1 

■n 

^ 


286 


Mirtsouitr. 


Pike, 

Ralls, 

Randolph, 

Ray, 

St.  Ciiarloa, 
St.  Fnincis, 
St.  Genevieve, 
St.  Louis, 
Saline, 
Scott, 

Washington, 
Wayne, 


T»»>\vliii;j  (irr<'ii, 
New  liOiidon, 
Rnndoiph, 
Richmond, 
St.  C'htirirs, 
Farinington, 
St.  (icncvicve, 
St.  liouis, 
Walnut  Farm, 
Bcnfon, 
Polosi, 


no 

1(>8 
I'M 


'J30 

110 
Whites,  11 'i,0t)5.    Slaves, 


Greenville, 

The  census  for  1S30  gives  its  poinilation, 
24,820.    Total,  137,127. 

Face  of  the  covntnj.  A  large  extent  of  this  great  state^  in  its  south- 
east angle,  commencing  ahovc  New  Madrid,  and  extending  down  the 
great  swamp,  and  through  the  alluvial  region,  a  considerahle  distance 
back  from  the  Mississippi,  is  low,  swampy,  fidl  of  lakes,  and  in 
many  places  suhject  to  be  inundated.  Beyond  that  region,  which  is 
generally  marked  by  a  bold  lino  of  rolling  and  fertile  high  lands,  the 
country  gradually  swells  into  high  tlint  knobs,  still  rising  beyond  that 
region  to  the  mountainous  country  of  the  lead  mines.  This  country 
extends  to  the  Osage  and  its  tributaries.  Beyond  this,  the  country  is 
broken  and  hilly;  until  we  open  upon  the  boundless  belt  of  prairies,  which 
spreads  beyond  the  western  limits  of  this  state.  The  best  portion,  and 
the  most  in!iabited  parts  of  the  state  are  between  the  Missouri  and  tlio 
"^  Mississippi.  This  vast  tract  is  no  where  mountainous.  It  contains  great 
tracts  of  alluvial  and  high  prairies.  It  is  for  the  most  part  a  surface, 
delightfully  rolling  and  variegated.  There  is  no  phrt  of  the  globe,  in  a 
state  of  nature,  where  greater  extents  of  country  can  be  traversed  more 
easily,  and  in  any  direction  by  carriages  of  any  description. 

Soil.  One  specific  ditference  between  the  soil  of  this  country  and 
that  bordering  on  the  Ohio,  is,  that  the  land  here  contains  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  sand,  is  more  loamy  and  friable,  and  the  soil  not  so  stiff.  There 
are  tracts  all  over  this  country,  where  we  find  the  clayey  soils  of  Oiiio 
and  Kentucky.  But  they  are  small.  The  roads  generally  run  where 
the  falling  rain  and  snow  are  so  readily  absorbed,  even  in  tlie  winter,  that 
the  people  are  not  troubled  with  the  deep  and  almost  impassable  roads, 
that  we  find  in  those  states.  The  rich  uplands  are  of  a  darkish  gray  color; 
with  the  exception  of  the  great  tract  about  the  lead  mines,  where  the 
soil  of  decomposed  pyrite  is  reddish,  and  of  a  color  brighter  than  Spanish 
brown.    The  poorer  uplands  are  generally  covered  with  white  oak,  and 


Missorm. 


287 


tliat  small  speries  of  ouk  dononiiii;itf!cl  pin  oak.     It  is  usunlly  a  stifler 
and  more  clayoy  soil  than  llie  other;  aiul  of  a  li<rlit  yellow  color.     There 
Hre  two  extensive  tracts  of  that  tiii<;  kind  of  timbered   npland   alluvion, 
whicli  <'onstitules  the  tinest  central   portions  of  Kentucky.     The  one  is 
I'l  or  '^0  miles  in  extent.     It  is  south-W(!st  of  the  mine  country,  and  is 
called  Ik'Uevui!  Settlement.     Tiiu  other  tract  is  much  lar;,'or,  and  is  called 
Hooin'ft  Lick  Sriflnmnt.     There  arc  .'^mailer  extents  of  this  kind  of  land 
.spread  over  all  the  state.     In  a  state  of  nature  it  strikes  the  eye  delighf- 
fuily.     The  surface!  rolls  j.'cntly  and  almost   imperceptibly.     It  has  the 
same  trees  and  shrubs  aiul  the  jrrand  vcretation,  that  desi;,Minte  the  rich 
alluvions;  aiul  at  the  same  tini(;  it  has   the  diversified  surface,  and  the 
associated  ideas  of  healtli,  and  sprin<.'s  of  water,  that  are  naturally  con- 
jiecled  with   the  notion  of  uplands.     These  lands  are  timbered  with  the 
same  trees  as  (he  alluvions.     Like  those,  they  are  surmounted  with  grape 
vines,  and  free  from  under  brush.     Tha  pawpaw,  persimon,   and  wild 
cherry  tree,  all  denoting  rich  soils,  abound  iu  these  re<i:i(ms;  and  arc 
nearly  us  fertile  as  the  bottoms  of  the  Missouri  or  the  Mississippi. 

Tfi(!  prairi<'s  are  {generally  level  and  of  an  intermediate  character  be- 
tween tliL!  richer  and  j)oorer  npl.mds.     Tlie  alluvial  prairies  arc  univer- 
isaliy  rich,  and  neiuly  as  fertile  as  the  bottoms.     Some  tracts  of  the  upland 
prairies  are  rich.     There  are  scarcely  any  lands  in  this  state  sufficiently 
h.'vel  for  cultivation,  that  have  not  fertility  cnou«fh  tobrin<?  good  crops  of 
com  without  manure;  and  in  many  instances  the  poorer  lands  arc  better 
for  wlieat,  than  the  richer.     The  bottoms  of  all  the  water  courses  arc  rich. 
Tliere  is  a  sjjecilic  difference  in  the  soils  of  the  two  wide  alluvial  belts, 
alouif  the  two  great  rivers  of  this  rjtate.     The  bottoms  of  the  Missouri 
are  generally  loamy,  with  a  larg<?  jjroportion  of  sand.     But  even  where 
liie  proportion  of  sand  .seems  in  excess,  tlicsoil  iso;  .'.11  richest  character; 
and  at  first  more  productive  than  that  of  the  Upper  'lississippi.     Inter' 
mixed    with  the  glalzr,  or  earth  of  a  greasy  and   adhesive  feeling,  is  a 
considerable  proportion  of  marie  or  dissolved  lime,  which  communicates 
lo  the  soil,  which  iscompounded  in  no  small  share,  with  dissolved  vegetable 
jiialter,  an  astonishing  fertility. 

'V\\v,  lands  of  the  Upixir  Mississippi  bottoms  are  blacker,  more  clayey, 
less  marly  and  sandy,  and  if  not  so  immeiliately  fertile,  are  more  inex- 
haustible; and  better  fitted  to  sustain  the  high  heats  and  the  drought  of 
summer.  The  bottoms  of  the  smaller  streams  partake  of  the  character  of 
the  region  through  which  they  flow;  :md  arc  composed  of  more  or  less 
sand,  marl,  or  clay,  according  as  the  hills,  acclivities,  or  soils,  along 
which  they  flow,  have  more  or  less  of  these  ingredients.  On  the  whole, 
the  good  lands  of  this  country  generally  have  a  great  degree  of  fertility. 
The  vegetable  mould  is  friable,  tender  rnd  deer*;  and  in  many  instances 


i 


m 


•JSM 


Missorui. 


•*• 


llio  soils  ilirowii  from  ilir  Itdiiomol'  llic  (lo"|K'st  w<'IIn,  iippoar  no  loss  for- 
lil«',  ill  III  lliit  nil  the  siiiriti'  'riic  niik  .-iiid  ;iliiiii(!aiit  vt'!,'rl;iti()n  every 
wliiMi;  iiulic:il('s  till"  piulilic  rlniMcIci  of  iiiliiK!  working  ;if  tlic  Kittt.  On 
llic  liclicr  piiiirics  and  Indiums,  tail  and  coaiX'  ;j;ras^,  and  weeds  reseiii' 
Idiii;,'  lieiiin,  riar  up  (d'siicli  !i  lliickiicss,  si/.r,iiii(l  li('i;4lit,  tis  almost  to  iiiako 
it  impractieal)lt!  lo  tiavel  on  lioisehack.  'I'lie  loaves  of  llio  trees  jukI 
sliriibs.  hy  llitir  niiiisiial  si/o  and  vrrdiire,  I'veiy  wJKTe  indicate!  (lie  prolific, 
vi<ror  and  power  (»f  iiatiiii'.  'I'lie  I'pper  Mississippi  is  skirled  with  a 
prairie,  coiiinieiiein;.' ten  miles  aliove  llie  inonlli  of  llie  INlissoiiri,  and  e\- 
lendiii;!,'  alon<,'  the  west  hank  of  llie  river  ('»()  or  70  miles,  with  an  averaire 
width  ol'  between  four  and  five  miles.  Tlit;  iiplnnds  on  llie  I'pper  INlis- 
.sissippi  are  also  exireiiiely  rich;  but  inlcMsperseil  with  round  Mint  knobs, 
which  oflcn  rise  in  re<,Milar  coins  *,'  or  MOO  fi-et  hijih.  There  arc  hryo 
tracts  of  poor  laiul,in  Iho  soiilh-west  division  of  the  slnlo,  covered  willi 
yellow  pine,  bald  and  rocky  hills,  lyid  even  moving'  sands.  In  fact,  this 
state  abounds  with  llie  strt)n<fnst  contrasts  of  soil  from  the  best  to  the 
worst;  and  tlu'ic  are  \or\  extensive  Iracls  of  each. 

Pi'odiirtinns.  llilherlo  wheat  and  corn  have  been  the;  sta])le3  of  this 
connlry.  The  warinlh  and  looseness  of  the  soil,  the  lar^je  proportions  of 
dissolved  limestone  in  it,  and  even  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere  render 
it  an  admirablo  country  for  wheal.  'J'ho  season  of  llu;  year  in  which 
wheat  matures,  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  culture  of  this  rich  praiii. 
This  period  is  warm  and  dry,  and  seldom  has  any  rains,  except  transient 
sliowers.  The  wIhmI,  however,  receives  such  an  impulse  from  the  spriiifr 
rains,  that  it  malures,and  fills,  even  diirin;L,'  ihc  severest  drou<,dits.  Twenly- 
livo  bushels  loan  acre  is  an  avera<fe  crop;  ihon^di  it  sometimes  rises  as  liijili 
as  thirty.  Kye,  barley  and  oats,  thou<i:h  not  extensively  cultivated,  succcril 
equally  well.  Corn  is  also  cultivated  in  the  highest  perfection.  The 
intense  heats  of  summer  airree  with  it.  It  throws  such  deep  and  strong 
roots  into  the  soil,  that  it  socm  shelters  thorn,  by  its  shade,  from  the  burn- 
ing ardors  of  the  sun;  and  the  crop  has  never  been  known  to  fail  from 
drought.  From  .50  to  75  bushels  to  the  acre  is  an  average  crop;  although 
a  hundred  are  often  raised.  The  droughts  are  often  severe,  yet  such  is 
the  depth  and  looseness  of  liio  soil,  that  ^a  crop  matures.  Flax  is 
raised  in  considerable  quantities,  and  no  country  will  produce  better 
licmp.  Its  defect  is,  that  it  grows  too  coarse  and  rank.  Tobacco  has 
become  an  article  of  extensive  culture,  and  its  quality  is  excellent,  as  the 
yield  is  most  abundant.  Cotton  is  raised  in  the  warm  prairies  back  of 
New  Madrid.  It  yields  a  tolerable  crop.  Sweet  and  Irish  potatoes  suc- 
ceed sufllcienlly  well.  This  state  has  lands  already  fit  for  the  plough,  suf- 
ficient to  produce  wheal  enough  for  the  whole  U.  S.  Prairies  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  acres  of  first  fate  wheat  lands  covered  witli  grass,  and 


4!t 


MiMSOCIlf. 


yno 


li  yrass,  and 


porfi'Clly  ^'^"^   '''^""   filiiubs   :tii(l  I)IhIus,  invito  the  ploii^'li;  iiiul  if  tlio 
ctJiiiifry  \v(  rrcultixatfil  to  a  piopcr  laIciiI,  il  iiii;;lit  ho  tho  yranary  c)t'  tho 

Morld. 

Ciiltivalnl  <MMSsrs  linvr  not  vet  .iiirrrrdrd  n«?  w.ll  ns  ihr  olhor  nrli<'l<'« 
of  ciilfiirc     'I'hf  only  kind,  yet  cNix'riinciittNl  to  any  ((insidnahlc  dc^^'ctv, 
i.^  timothy;  and  (his  ic(|iiircs  a  rlosn  and    wet   soil,  which  is  a  very  un- 
connnon  oru;  in  Missouri.     It  appi-ars  to  possess  in  tho  liij,diost  (Ituirc, 
tJH)  r('qnisil(>s  for  the  ttso  of  plastrr.     Ahnnd  int  crops  of  red  clovr-r  iniL'lil 
he  made,  by  this  manure.     JM.ister  is  Omnd    of  the  hest  qnidily,  and  in 
inoxhanslihio  (piantities,  on  the  waters  of  llu3  Missouri.      Imoiu  analogy 
and  the  character  of  the  niitiiral  ^rrasses,  we  infer  that  St.  l''oin,  nnd  the 
coart!<'r  atid  more  succulent  ;Li;r;isst's  will  llonrish  almndanlly  in  this  dei^) 
and  rich  soil.     'rurni|)s  and  hulhous   rooted   wLfctahlcs  ;irow  to  a  yreal 
size.     Pumpkins,  sfjiiaslK's,  and    m(,'lous,  are  raised  no  where  in  <.'reater 
abnndanec.     At  present  tlic  fodder  provided  for  the  stable  in  winter,  is 
clii(!lly  corn,  ita  leaves  and  husks,  and  what  is  called  y/m/r/V  I'n/.v.f.  This 
is  a  coanseand  tall  ^'rass, covering,'  the  prairies  in  the  j/reatest  abiindanco. 
In  the  early  stances  of  its  orowtli,  it  resendjles  young  wheat;  and  in  this 
state  fnrnisheH  a  sueculent  and   rich  feed  lor  <uittlc.     They   have   been 
seen,  when  runnin*,'  in  wheat  fields,  where  the  young  wheat  covered  the 
ground,  to  choose  the  prairie  grass  on  the  margins  of  the  fields  in  prefer- 
ence to  the  wlieaf.     It  is  impossible  to  imagine  better  butter  than  is  made 
wiiile  the  grass  is  in  this  stage.     Calile  and  horses,  that  have  lived  uu- 
slieltcrcd  and  without  fodder  through  the  winter  and  in  the  spring  scarcely 
able  to  mount  the  hills,  through  leanness  and  weakness,  when  feeding  on 
this  grass,  are  transformed  to  a  liealthy  and  sleek  appearance,  as  if  by  a 
charm.     But  as  the  summer  advances  it  becomes    tough  and  wiry.     By 
a  strange  mistake,    this  grass  is  not  mowed  until   after    the  autunmal 
frosts.      Of  course  it  is  then  a  harsh  and  coarse   fodder.     ^Verc  it  cut 
before  it  has  thrown   out   ils   seeds,   and    become    wiry,  it   would  be 
equally  valuable,  and  perhaps  superior  to  timothy.    It  creates  an  extremely 
lougii  sward,  but  is  soon  killed  by  being  close  fed.     An  abundant  crop  of 
coarse  and  tall  weeds  takes  its  place. 

In  the  meadows,  bottoms,  and  wet  prairies,  are  observed  a  great  variety 
of  grasses,  most  of  them  nondescripts.  Some,  no  doubt,  would  bo  found 
worthy  of  cultivation,  and  the  rather  so,  as  they  are  naturalized  to  the 
■soil  and  climate.  Above  all  countries,  this  is  the  land  of  ilowers.  In 
the  season  every  prairie  is  an  inmiense  flower  garden.  In  the  early  stages 
of  spring,  rises  a  generation  of  flowers,  wliote  prevalent  tint  is  peach- 
blow.  The  next  is  a  deeper  red.  Then  succeeds  the  yellow,  and  to  the 
Jatest  period  of  autumn,  the  prairies  exhibit  a  brilliant  golden  hue. 

37 


'I 
•» 


# 


.# 


yiHJ 


MIMSOIIRI. 


'I'liia  slMtcHprciuls  a  wi«lc  licit,  on  wliidi  ;irc!  foiiiid  innriy  frees  nrid 
Hiil'tilii',  (lilli  rent  iViiin  IIkihc  (-(iliiiiinii  ill  til).'  Ill(*l(;  Hniilluiii  |KirlH  of  tliu 
Viillfy.  'i'lioy  «lill!  r,  nl.-n,  fioin  ilmst!  in  the  Hiiino  l.iiilinles  on  tlie  Oliio. 
Crab  a|)[)k<  lireH,  pawiriws,  and  prisiinent^,  are  iihiiiKlanl.  We  li;i\e  no 
whtiOHeen  .snrli  (|iiaiililies  ol"  red  and  yelh)\v  prairie  plnins.  Wild  Imps 
rover  whole  prairies.  PtM-cans,  ha/leniil.';,  and  tints  ol'  tliedillerent  Irilies 
of  llio  hickories,  are  I'unnd  in  '.'re:!!  alnindance.  'I'liere  art!  three  species 
of  tlin  vine  coininoii  in  all  pirts  ol'  the  eonntry.  'I'Im!  tirst  is  the  .Iniic 
grape,  that  ripens  in  that  month.  It  is  small,  sweet,  aiul  nncomnion;  not 
hein^' I'oiind  except  in  untrodden  islands  in  the  river.-,  or  remote  places 
bryo.id  llu;  reach  of  domestic  animals.  The  French  formerly  made  a 
pIcasMiit  vvino  from  it.  It  ought  to  he  more  known.  TIk!  snnmi(>rgrajH; 
is  small,  |)nrplo,  and  a  toh'ndtly  rich  fruit  in  the  month  of  October.— 
Wlien  carefully  dried  in  tin;  aim,  these  grapes  arc  not  mnch  inferior  to 
raisins.  When  ripe,  they  are  too  dry  to  make  wine.  The  winter  grape 
is  small,  austere,  and  sour.  When  matured  by  the  winter  frosts,  it  ho- 
conies  tolerably  pleasant. 

From  tlio  temperature!  of  tlin  climate,  the  warmth  and  loosenofsg  of  the 
soil,  and  more  than  all  thtMlryness  of  the  atmosphere,  wo  woidd  snpposo 
this  country  as  favorabh?  for  the  cultivation  of  fho  vine,  as  any  other  in 
llic  United  Stales.    1'he  atmospluro  i^  drier  here  than  in  Ohio,  Kentucky, 
and  Indiana.     The  fault  of  the  fruit  diere,  is  to  grow  too  abundant  and 
succulent.     The  few  attempts,  that  have  been  made  to  ctiltivatc  the  vino 
here,  warrant  the  conclusion,  that  one  day  the  southern  exposures  of  iho 
gentle  cuiincncea   will   bo  covered   with    vines.     All  the  fruits  of  the 
northern  and  middle  states  thrive  in  an  unconnnon  degree.     The  apple 
tree  attains  its  utmost  developement  i-rnd  beauty.     An  mhabitant  from 
the  northern  states  is  struck   witii   surprise,  to  see  this  tree   in  three 
years  from  the  time  of  its  transplanting,  and  as  soon  as  it  attains  the  size 
of  a  man's  wrist,  loading  itself  with  fruit,     reach  trees  break  down  from 
the  weight  of  their  fruit.     I'ear  trees,  apricots,  ami  nectarines,  though 
they  have  been  introduced  in  hut  lew  instances,  prosper.     This  .seems  to 
be  the  native  country  of  fruit  trees.     Few  attempts  have  yet  been  made 
to  inoculate  and  engraft  good  kinds  of  fruit  trees,  and  every  thing  in  most 
instances,  has  been  left  to  nature.     Ap{)les  arc  already  abundant  in  the 
older  settlements.     Barley  yields  a  fine  crop;  and  it  is  hoped,  that  not 
many  years  will  elapse,  before  beer  and  porter,  drinks  so  j)roper  for  this 
hot  climate,  will  lake  the  place  of  that  murderer  both  of  soul  and  body, 
"whiskey.     The  mulberry  tree  is  common  in  the  woods  ;  and  this  is,  un- 
doubtedly, among  the  best  of  the  middle  climates  for  breeding  the  silk 
worm,  and  making  silk.     In  short,  every  production  of  the  northern  and 


Mi««ot  in. 


'JUl 


initMl  •  :'t;»fo'<  llirivc;!  hrrc  Tin'  InviH  uf  siiiiim'r  ;iih1  Iho  ilrynoHS  of  llm 
aliini.xiilKT''  fH'ciiIiiily  fit  this  Hoil  for  tint  fiiltivatioii  of  the  jiicilicinul 
|i!-iiitH,  rliiilviil).  p'lliin  cliristi,  mikI  llio  [xippy. 

AniiiKil.t.  IJivup,  WMJviH,  iiiid  innlli  rs,  nrr  n.sroiiiiiinn,nH  in  U.(Mih)VO 
.Moiiliurn  ii'.idiM.  The  pniiri*^  woli",  llicinost  miscliiovoii.s  of  liicsjMH'it'S, 
is  Ititt  li"i  frc'iucnt.  HiiiriioeH  and  rik  :\w  only  foiiiid  in  tlin  prairicit 
beyond  llio  limits  of  liiis  ;-<fal('.  Drcr,  as  the  Indians  iflip',  and  ii;;  '•til- 
tivalion  licfdincs  ni(»r(!  ronnnoii,  :m\'  m'ch  to  inctcaMi.'  in  nunilx  is.  Tliey 
nrc!  so  fr('(|nrntly  noted,  iVoni  four  to  twenty  in  ;i  drove,  even  in  tiio 
innnediaf(!  vicinity  of  ilie  poptdons  \ill.i':e«»,  iis  to  he  no  ohjet;?*  of  curi- 
osity, 'i'liat  Iayhv  and  iniseliie\oiis  sp('ci<'s  cf  tl.c  mole,  called  "t'lhcr,  ia 
extrenu  ly  nnnoyin;.;  on  tlu!  prairies  and  barrens.  Jt  is  seldom  .^  'ii  on 
tlie  timlx-red  bottoms.  Tliesc:  animals  live  in  ('t)nnniniilies,  in  tin;  vieinity 
of  which  tlivy  raise  thoiisinds  of  eminences.  They  form  theso  eminences 
by  reniovnifj  the  curlh  from  their  holes,  by  a  pouch  with  which  nature  lias 
fmnished  them,  on  each  side  of  their  month.  They  are  extremely  nns- 
chievoMH  in  corn  nnd  |)otatoe  lields;  and  in  gardens  they  prey  upon  nil 
kinds  of  bulbous  roots.  'J'heir  bite  is  said  to  be  poisonous.  The  prairio 
(lo^'be^rins  to  bo  seen  in  Iho  western  extremities  of  this  state. 

Katllo  snakes,  copp(>r  iieads,  nnd  jrronnd  vipers  arc;  found  in  the  unset- 
tled re;,Mons;  ami  esp(!cially  near  th(!  Hint  knobs  and  le<lgy  liills.  Thn 
.<niall  and  pernicious  rattle  snakes,  called  snappers,  live;  in  ^'rcat  iniud)er.«? 
in  particular  jjlaces  on  tlu;  prairies.  Poisonttus  reptiles  are  not  so  com- 
mon, ;'.s  in  uii.setlled  rcLoons  of  iIk;  same  latilnde,  where  the  country  is 
generally  limbered.  IJurninif  the  i>rairies  undoubtedly  deslroy.s  iiudti- 
ludesof  them.  The  ponds,  lakes,  and  rivers,  durin;,'  the  si)riiii,'  and 
autnnui,  and  during'  the  miixratin^'  season  of  water  fowls,  arc  literally 
covered  with  swans,  pelicans,  cranes,  precsc,  brants  aiul  ducks,  of  all  the 
tribes  and  varieties.  JMany  of  thcs.;  fowls  rear  their  younpf  on  Iho  islands 
and  sandbars  of  tlu;  larno  rivers,  hi  tlu;  autumn  multitudes  of  them 
are  killed  for  tiieir  (piills,  fealhiMS,  and  llesh.  The  birds  called  (piails  in 
j\ew  J'iii^dand,  and  partrid;:ics  here,  are  numerous,  as  is  also  a  bird,  some- 
what larirer  than  a  dom(\stic  hen,  called  the  prairie-hen.  In  the  autumn' 
of  some  sejisons  they  are  seen  liovcrinfj  over  the  corn  fields  in  /locks  of 
hundreds.  They  are  easily  taken,  and  when  fit  are  fine  for  the;  table. 
There  arc  two  larger  and  still  more  beautiful  species  of  the  grouse  tribe, 
found  far  up  the  Missouri.  Turtle  doves  are  always  numerous,  as  in 
some  seasons  are  the  wild  pi;veoiis.  Sini,dng  birds  are  not  so  common  as 
in  the  country  firthcr  south;  or  ihe  more  settled  and  cultivated  regions  of 
the  north.  It  is  a  striking  fact,  that  they  become  more  common  in  any 
region,  as  cultivation  advances.  The  robin  red  breast  is  seen  in  Hocks  in 
the  autumn,  but  docs  not  rear  its  young  here.     The  magpie,  or  French 


I'i 


1&: 


li 


« 


20-2 


MISSOURI. 


Mv;. 


'# 


1' 


black  bird,  that  is  so  frequently  lieard  cliattering  its  notes  in  tlie  meadows 
of  New  England  in  spring,  has  only  been  observed  iierc  since  the  country 
has  begun  lo  be  peopled  and  cultivated.  The  red  bird,  or  Virginia 
nigliting;ile,  rears  its  young,  and  spends  ihc  winter  here,  and  on  a  mild 
day  in  winter  its  mild  whistle  is  delightful  in  the  deep  forests.  The  blue 
bird  is  heard  in  all  the  mild  d  ..of  winter.  Tlic  beautiful  parroquct 
frequents  the  svcamorc  bottoms,  and  poorly  compensates  by  the  extreme 
beauty  of  its]ihunage  for  the  injury  it  does  the  orchards. 

Tlie  domeslic  animals  arc  the  same,  as  clsowlierc  in  the  United  States. 
The  wide  prairies  every  where  covered  with  grass,  invite  the  raising  of 
cattle.  Many  of  the  fi-imers  possess  great  droves;  and  they  maybe 
multiplied  to  an  indefmito  extent.  The  cattle  are  fine,  and  the  beef  good. 
Wlien  the  same  attention  is  here  bestowed  upon  rearing  the  best  kind  of 
liorses,  that  is  given  to  the  subject  by  the  Pennsylvania  fiirmer,  that  noble 
animal  will  be  raised  in  the  utmost  perfection.  Sheep  prosper,  nor  does 
the  fleece  degenerate.  North  of  40°,  on  the  prairies  between  the  Missouri 
and  Mississippi,  shepherds  will  one  day  find  their  homes,  and  their  sheep 
will  yield  the  finest  and  best  wool.  At  present  the  wolf  is  a  fatal  enemy 
to  them;  and  the  number  of  weeds  that  bear  burs  is  so  great,  that  their 
fleeces  become  matted  and  tangled  with  them;  and,  in  detaching,  the 
staple  of  the  fleece  is  injured.  Swine  are  raised  with  greater  facility, 
than  in  Ohio.  Hickory  and  acorn  bearing  trees  are  more  abundant  than 
in  that  stale.  On  the  whole,  for  rearing  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses,  this 
state  and  Illinois  have  advantages  over  any  other  of  the  western  states. 
Agriculture.  There  is  no  country,  in  which  a  farm  is  made  with  less 
ditficulty,  or  where  tillage  is  more  easy.  A  great  proportion  of  the  land 
is  fit  for  the  plough  The  soil  is  easy  to  work.  The  greatest  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  present  farming  is  the  want  of  good  fjncing  materials.  Stones 
are  seldom  to  be  found,  and  no  where,  except  in  quarries  and  ledges;  and 
when  found,  they  are  not  used  for  the  purpose  of  fencing.  Uidess  forests 
are  planted,  there  will  soon  be  an  absolute  want  of  a  sufllciency  of  any 
kind  of  timber  for  fencing.  TIjc  substitute  ought  to  be  fourd  in  hedges. 
Whenever  the  farmers  of  this  country  understand  their  true  interests, 
they  will  immediately  commence  the  planting  of  hedges.  The  subject 
has  as  yet  engaged  the  contemplation  of  only  a  few  intelligent  husband- 
men. Tlioy  have  thought  that  the  native  gooseberry,  which  here  grows 
wild,  and  of  a  tangled  luxuriance,  unknown  in  the  country  east  of  the 

^  Alleghanics,  would  be  sufficiently  thoiny  and  impenetrable  for  a  hedge. 
Ckjjiers  have  recommended  the  thorny  locust,  or  acacia,  the  crab  apple 

f  ^  tree,  the  privet,  a  most  beautiful  shrub  of  the  laurel  class,  used  in  the 
middle  states  to  form  boraers  and  walks.  There  seems  no  good  reason, 
why  the  British  hawthorn,  or  the  Columbian  thorn  should  not  be  adopted 


♦ 


^^ 


IIISSOL'IU. 


203 


for  (Ills  purpose.  It  would  fjrow  lierc  more  rnpidly,  limn  in  Pennsylvania 
and  Delaware,  where  it  soon  becomes  ;i  fence  suflicieiit  to  turn  cattle. 
The  be;iuly  of  a  wliorit  field  in  full  verdure  in  autinnn,  in  contrast  with 
ihe  hrown  of  the  prairies  is  a  striking  feature  in  the  cultivated  landscape. 
It  woidd  he  more  so,  when  its  outline  was  skirted  with  a  living  and  ver- 
dant liedge.  Tlie  planting  of  the  Alleghany  while  pine  and  the  chesnut 
ought  also  to  be  objects  of  immediate  attention.  The  scarcity  of  wood 
and  limber  imperiously  cilLs  upon  those,  who  have  any  thought  for  the 
generations  to  come,  to  attend  to  this  sort  of  improvement. 

Houses,  S^'c.  But  a  few  years  since,  a  house  of  better  structure,  than 
a  temporary  log  cabin  was  a  rare  object.  The  case  of  obtaining  subsist- 
ence was  so  great,  and  there  was  for  a  considerable  time  so  little  emula- 
tion among  the  people,  lb:it  they  hfirdly  consulted  comfort,  much  less 
ornament.  ]\Iost  of  the  first  settlers  were  backwoodsmen,  used  to 
the  hardships  of  a  laborious  life.  Indolent,  and  satisfied  with  the  supply 
of  the  most  common  wants  of  nature,  they  lived  in  open  and  miserable 
habitations  which  neither  excluded  the  rain,  heat,  or  cold.  It  was  a  long 
time,  before  the  country  had  mills,  and  the  materials  for  building  bore  a 
high  price.  Sites  for  water  mills  are  not  common.  But  such  have  been 
found.  Mills  on  the  princij)lc  of  the  inclined  plane,  and  steam  mills  have 
been  commenced.  Good  houses  have  been  reared,  not  only  in  the  towns 
and  villages,  but  in  the  country.  Log  cabins  and  log  houses  arc  disap- 
pearing in  all  directions,  and  better  houses  are  taking  their  place.  Rival- 
ry and  emulation  have  been  inspired;  and  the  people  have  been  often 
tempted  to  build  more  showy  houses  than  were  refpiisite  cither  for  com- 
fort, or  conformity  to  the  circumstances  of  the  builder.  Brick  and  stone 
bouses,  have  been  generally  preferred. 

Climate.  Soon  after  wc  descend  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  the 
climate  begins  to  verge  towards  a  southern  one.  This  state  occupies  a 
medial  position,  and  has  a  temperature  intermediate  between  that  of  New 
York  and  Louisiana.  From  the  circumstance,  that  the  valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi spreads  like  an  immense  inclined  plane,  towards  the  gulf  of 
Mexico,  it  results,  that  north  and  south  winds  alternate  through  this 
valley.  This  fact  applies  most  strongly  to  the  immediate  valley  of  the 
Mississippi.  As  the  prevailing  winds  blow  either  up,  or  down  the  valley, 
the  changes  arc  great  and  sudden.  When  the  breeze  for  any  length  of 
time  descends  the  Misssissippi  the  weather  becomes  cold;  and  if  the 
same  direction  of  the  wind  continues  for  successive  days,  and  it  be 
winter,  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi  are  frozen,  and  the  mercury  falls 
below  zero.  After  this  wind  has  prevailed  for  a  length  of  time,  the  op- 
posite wind  gels  the  ascendency  again;  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  iiave 
days,  when  one  can  sit  at  the  open  window,  with  comfort,  in  January. 


♦ 


.^ 


ll 


irm 


204 


MISSOURI. 


Ilpnce  tlio  climate  is  exlremely  fickle  find  variable.  Tlio  transitions  are 
so  rapid,  ur,  not  only  to  lie  nnconirorttible,  bnt  to  liavo  an  nnfivoral)lo  ef- 
fect npon  the  cnnstilnlion.  Hut  tlio  country  is  always  exempt  from 
those  d;un]>,  and  if  it  be  winter,  piercing  norlli-east  breezes,  that  prevail  so 
much  on  the  Atlantic  shore. 

The  winter  comniences  aI)ont  Chrirstmas,  and  is  frequently  so  severe,  as 
to  brid<fe  the  nn'jjlity  current  of  the  IMiss-onri  so  lirnily,  tint  it  may  lie 
passed  for  many  weeks  with  loaded  tennis.  In  the  winter  of  ISIS,  this 
was  the  case  for  nine  weeks.  Durinfr  this  period,  however,  there  are 
often  truly  warm  d;iys,wit!i  a  sky  perfectly  brillinnt,  and  destitute  of  th;it 
leaden  hue,  which  it  has  at  the  same  period  on  the  Atlantic  shore.  Snow 
seldom  falls  more  than  six  inches  deep;  and  ^'enerally  does  no  more  tli;ni 
cover  the  ground,  disiippcaring  after  two  or  three  days.  Its  severity 
ceases  with  February.  Through  the  months  of  March  and  April,  there  aro 
frequent  summer  days,  and  the  trees  sometimes  blossom  in  the  former 
month.  But  it  seldom  happens,  that  there  are  not  alternations  of  cold 
even  into  ^lay.  On  the  whole,  instead  of  the  climate  becoming  moro 
mild,  as  we  advance  west  on  the  same  pnrallel,  it  is  believed,  that  tlio 
reverse  is  the  case.  'Die  greater  part  of  the  summer  is  intensely  hot, 
The  country  is  bare  and  open  to  tlie  full  influence  of  the  sun.  The  .soil, 
moreover,  is  of  a  warm  and  sandy  texture;  strongly  imbibing  the  sun'.s 
rays.  The  sky  for  the  greater  part  of  the  summer  is  brilliant  and  cloud- 
less. All  these  circumstances  concur  to  give  this  country  a  warm  sum- 
mer. Nevertheless  the  openness  of  the  country,  and  its  freedom  from 
mountains  which  impede  the  course  of  the  winds,  always  creates  more  or 
less  of  a  breeze,  which  tempers  the  heat,  and  renders  it  more  endurable. 

Another  circumstance,  which  distinguishes  this  climate  from  most 
others  on  onr  continent,  is  its  extreme  dryness  and  purity.  Evaporation 
takes  place  with  great  rapidity.  It  diflers  in  this  respect  from  the  wood- 
ed valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  still  more  from  that  of  the  Mississippi  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Polished  steel,  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley,  contracts  rust  in  a  few  hours,  and  the  dews  are  like  rains. 
The  three  years,  1810,  '17  and'LS,  gave  an  average  of  only  fifty  cloudy 
days  in  the  season,  and  not  more  than  twenty-five  that  were  rainy.  The 
average  amount  of  rain,  that  falls  in  Missouri,  does  not  exceed  eighteen 
inches  a  year.  There  are  exceptions,  however,  as  in  the  year  181 1, common- 
ly called  by  the  French  Vanricc  dcs  cavx,  in  which  year  it  was  thought, 
tlierc  fell  more  than  forty  inches.  The  two  great  rivers  that  year  filled  their 
bottoms,  in  some  places,  quite  to  the  bluffs;  and  their  courses  were  often 
five  or  six  miles  wide.  The  Missouri  country  may  bo  pronounced,  in 
the  general  a  dry  one.  The  steady  rains  arc  from  the  south-west.  The 
long  rains  that  occur  in  the  Atlantic  country  without  thunder,  seldom 


%' 


MliJSOLUI. 


295 


liapju'ii  hero.  Tlu;  siiinmor  rains  aro  goiienilly  ihuiKler  showers.  Tlicy 
riso  near  the  courses  ol'  the  ^neat  river?,  and  appear  to  be  siip[)lied  by 
evaporation  from  1!k  m.  The  lifihtnin;;,'  is  vivid,  and  the  thunder  loud 
and  frequent.  The  autumn  of  IMissouri,  in  common  witli  the  whole 
J\Ii?sissi|)pi  valley,  is  serene  temperate  and  delifihtfid. 

Such  is  the  genorid  aspect  of  the  climate.  J3ut  in  a  country  so  large, 
iiud  open,  seasons  sometimes  occur  v(!ry  wide  from  this  general  clr.iracter. 
Tiio  uniformity  of  the  autunms  is  indecul  almost  invariable.  But  the 
<feneral  character  of  this  climat(j  is,  that  less  reliance  can  be  placed  upon 
the  analogy  of  the  past,  as  a  clue  to  the  future,  than  on  almost  any  other, 
of  which  wo  have  read. 

Salubrity  ofthv  coi/iitrij.  When  it  was  first  settled  by  the  Americans, 
tlierc  were  some  years  of  extraordinary  mortality,  which  acquired  for  the 
country  a  character  of  sickliness.  A  part  of  this  fatality  may  be  fairly 
attributed  to  the  circumstance,  that  the  immigrants  were  unsheltered,  ex- 
cept by  miserable  hovels;  and  that  there  were  few  mills  to  supply  the 
people  with  bread.  Tiie  diet  was  changed.  The  modes  of  life  were 
changed.  The  jicople  were  imprudent  and  exposed.  The  season  was 
uncommonly  rainy.  On  the  level  lands  and  in  the  hollows  rested 
innncnse  quantities  of  stagnant  water,  which  escaped  only  by  the  evapo- 
ration of  a  powerful  sun.  One  or  two  sickly  seasons  have  occurred  since. 
In  the  neighborhood  of  inundated  bottoms,  where  waters  escape  during 
the  floods  from  the  rivers,  and  are  retained  in  the  gullies  and  ponds  in 
the  vicinity  of  small  lakes,  and  stagnant  waters,  the  cflect  is  the  same 
here,  as  elsewhere;  with  the  added  inconvenience,  that  the  heats  of  sum- 
mer, and  the  powerful  evaporation,  consequent  upon  the  heat  and  dry- 
ness of  the  atmosphere,  increase  the  noxious  activity  of  the  causes  of 
disease.  Whenever  an  unacclimatcd  family  fixes  itself  in  the  vicinity  of 
such  collections  of  water,  it  may  calculate  upon  sickness.  Intermitting 
fevers  are  the  consequence  of  inhaling  the  miasm  of  swamps  and  decay- 
ing vegetation,  the  change  of  temperature  from  the  coolness  of  the  night 
to  the  heats  of  day,  exposure  to  the  heavy  dews,  and  various  other  mixed 
causes.  Intermittents  arc  the  most  connnoji  diseases  of  the  country. 
The  tendency  of  all  complaints  in  the  sunnner  is  to  assume  a  bilious 
type.  Bilious  fevers  are  apt  to  prevail  in  the  autunm.  In  some  seasons 
they  are  endemic  in  particular  districts.  They  sometimes  take  the  form 
of  continued  fevers,  and  are  then  dangerous.  IMore  fre(iuently  they  are 
remittents,  and  when  properly  man;iged,  yield  readily  to  medicine.  If 
tlie  attendance  of  a  judicious  physician  is  early  and  constant,  they  are  sel- 
dom fatal.  Pleurisy  and  lung  fevers  sometimes  prevail  in  the  -winter. 
Pulmonic  complaints  attended  witii  cough  and  terminating  in  consump- 
tion, notwithstanding  the  inconstancy  of  the  weutlicr,  arc  uncommon. 


3£^ 


S'  , 


# 


V' 


•2% 


MlSSOl'UI. 


I  * 


There  is  no  doubt,  tliat  inoroaso  of  population  and  culiivation  by  tlrainintr 
atagnnnt  waters,  and  removing?  the  redundant  vegetation,  <lirectiy  tends 
to  increase  the  sahd)rity  of  a  new  country.  In  processor  lime  this  must 
become  a  healthy  cotuitry.  It  can  not  be  accounted  a  sicixly  one  at  pms- 
cnt.  Except  in  deep  bottoms,  and  unfavorable  situations,  the  chances  of 
life  and  health  are  as  favorable  here,  as  in  most  countries,  wliicli  arc  re- 
puted healthy. 

Srrnrn/,  Jiond.t,  S;r.  The  hills,  or,  as  they  are  called,  the  Ozark 
mountains  of  the  mine  country,  arc  sulliciently  precipitous  and  fjrrand,  to 
add  the  sublimity  of  mountain  scenery  to  the  prospect.  In  the  bottoms 
and  along  the  mountain  streams  contrary  to  the  conunon  assertion  in 
books,  the  soil  has  uncommon  fi>rtility ;  and  we  have  not  witnessed  scenery 
of  a  character  more  solitary,  wild  and  bcatjtiful,  than  in  the  mine  country. 
Along  all  the  consid(^rable  water  courses  there  arc  those  blulVs,  that  in 
the  wesicrn  country  mark  the  alluvial  outline  of  streams.  In  some  places, 
especially  on  the  UpjX'r  Mississippi,  they  swell  to  high  hills,  whicli  rnn 
oulat  right  angles  from  the  river,  and  seem  like  mountainous  waves  of 
the  sea,  suddenly  arrested  and  tixed.  Compared  with  the  norlhorn  states, 
and  these  partial  exceptions  aside,  the  habitable  part  of  JNIissouri  is  oiio 
vast  plain.  Wc  have  already  described  the  prairies  of  the  west.  All  know, 
that  the  name  is  a  French  one,  importing  a  meadow.  Those,  who  havo 
not  seen  a  prairie  may  easily  form  a  conception  of  one.  Yet  the  grandest 
objects  of  nature  will  not  excite  more  surj)riz'.^  in  the  mind  of  a  traveller 
from  the  Atlantic  states,  than  tiic  first  view  of  a  prairie.  Riding  day 
after  day,  throiigh  forests,  where  the  small  improvements  made  in  tiic 
wilderness  scarcely  interrupt  the  unbroken  continuity  of  woods,  he  opens 
at  once  upon  the  view  of  a  boundless  horizon.  lie  beholds  outstretched 
under  his  eye  a  perfectly  level  plain,  of  the  most  soft  and  beautifid  ver- 
dure, covered  with  ilowcrs  of  every  scent  and  hue.  Here  and  there  in 
the  skirts  of  the  prairies,  and  often  in  their  centre  are  clumps  of  oaks  prc- 
cans  and  black  walnuts  disposed  in  forms  so  regular,  and  generally 
circular,  as  can  not  fail  to  till  the  eye  of  an  admirer  of  the  ancient  stylo 
of  gardening.  He  is  unprepared  for  a  view  in  such  strong  contrast  with 
the  dark  and  lonely  forests.  It  is  impossible  to  convey  by  description 
the  impression,  which  these  views  create.  In  the  vast  prairies,  or  on  the 
verge  of  the  blulls,  that  overlook  them,  taking  into  view  tha,  verdant 
ocean  of  grass,  the  vast  rivers  rolling  their  mighty  masses  of  waters  through 
the  dark  forests,  the  romantic  hills  stretching  away  in  the  distance;  and 
here  and  there  a  cabin,  or  a  house  throwing  up  its  column  of  smoke,  and 
the  cattle,  horses  and  sheep,  sleeping  about  it,  this  country  furnishes 
enchanting  landscapes  for  the  pencil. 


<^' 


h. 


Missorni. 


297 


There  areas  yet  few  roads,  that  are  wrought.  Nature  has  been  more 
in(kil"ent  to  this  country,  in  this  rcsptct,  than  pcrliaps  to  any  other.  It 
is  neither  a  l)onii(lIcss  sandy  plain,  nor  a  tamo  and  lovol  prairie;  but  a 
(Ijvorf^ilied  surface  of  f,MMitli;  hills  and  easy  slopes.  Wherever  the  current 
of  jKissinjf  hasniarkcil  a  roati,  it  is  ^'cnerally  ayood  one.  If  a  person  in 
,1  caniajfe  is  dis.salislied  vvilh  the  beaten  on<',  he  selects  one  for  himself, 
andean  (ravel  witli  case,  in  most  instances,  throujfh  the  untrodden  forest. 
TJic  roads  are  passable  at  all  tinu^s  of  the  year;  and  seldom  nuiddy  more 
than  two  or  three  days  in  succession.  This  circumstance  eminently 
distinj^uishes  this  countiy  from  that  cm  the  Ohio. 

Mhicralti,  FossUtt,  6^'c.     The  Rocky  Mountains,  which  are  a  continua- 
tion of  the  inin(>ral  niounlains  of  New  Mexico,  so  abundant  in  the  precious 
metals,  probably  contain  thein  too.     Travellers,  who  have  ascended  the 
Missouri  to  its  sources,  say  that  fj[old  dust  is  mingled  with  its  sands,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  lloclie  Jaune,  or  Y<'llow  Stone.     Fossil  coal  is  found 
in  irreat  abundance  aloii"  tlu;  Missouri.     It  abounds  near  St.  Charles  and 
St.  Louis.     Tiie  extent  of  the  veins,  and  the  quality  of  the  coal  have  not 
been  much  tested.     In  a  rc;,fi;»ii  so  bare  of  wood,  these  internal  provisions 
for  that  deficiency   will  one  <lay  be  thoroughly   explored,  and  found  to 
constitute  one  of  its  essential  resources.     Most  beautiful  specimens  of 
l)lasler  are  brought  from  the  Platte.     Immense  bodies  of  iron  are  found 
in  Uellcvue,  on  Big  River  and  its  waters,  and  in  various  points  back  of 
llerculaneum,  and  on  the  St.  Francis  and  Black  Rivers;  and  iron  ore  is 
indicated  in  all  points  of  this  state.     Manganese,  zinc,   antimony,  and 
cobalt  arc  dug  along  with  lead  ore  in  the  lead  mines.     Red  and  white 
chalk,  (lint,  ochres  of  diU'crent  colors,  connnon  salt,  nitre,  steatite,  marl, 
I)lumbago,  porphyry,  js'.spcr,  chalcedony,  ponderous  barytes,  and  pumice 
stone  are  found  in  the  country.     It  is  afllrmed,  that  cinnabar,  or  the  red 
ores  of  mercury,  are  found  hc^ro.      Marble  and  blue  lime  stone  abound; 
and  the  lime  made  from  it  is  of  the  best  quality.      Porcelain  clay  of  the 
finest  quality  abounds  near  Cape  Girardeau.     Along   the   banks  of  the 
Missouri,  in  many  places,  the  blulls  are  composed  of  thin,  smooth,  and 
perfectly  regular  strata  of  rock,  apparently  composed  of  iron  and  lime 
stone.     They   resemble  slate,  and  it  is  believed  would  answer  the  same 
purpose  for  covc^ring  houses.     The   (lint   knobs  are  curiosities.     They 
abound  in  the  south-west  part  of  the  state,  and  along  the  Upper  Missis- 
sippi.    They  are  frequently  in  the  shape  of  cones,  rising  .SOO  feet  with  a 
base  often  less  than  a  nule  in  diameter.     They  are  composed  of  siliccou.s 
masses  of  stone,  among  which  arc  thousands  of  frrfic,  or  arrow  stones, 
which  serve  the  Indians  for  gun  (lints.     Pumice  stones  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful specimens  arc  often  seen  floating  on  the  Missouri.     The  Indian  pipe 
.^tonc,  so  abundant  on  the  river  St.  Peter,  is  said  to  be  found  in  this  state. 

38 


,r- 


i^- 


80S 


MISSOUIU. 


ItiHofji  IxMinlifiil  (liirk  nd  <(»l()r,  and  ntM-ivrsa  polislM'tiutil  loalahaslo 
I'yrilo  of  roppcr  is  roiiiul  dispcrsocl  over  ihv  <'()uiiliy  in  various  places. 
Tlio  river  Ciiirrr  was  st)  named  by  tlin  rrondi,  fioni  supposing,  that  ii-,- 
banks   ahonndcd  in  copper   ore.     Masses  of    pnn^,   iiiallealil(!  <'(»ppci, 

wei^liin^  IVoni  ihrco  to  (<'n  ponntls,  are  shown  as  native  cnriositjivs. 

Splendid  specimens  of  crystal  are  often  discoviucd. 

But  the  mineral,  for  which  this  re<,Mon  is  more  particularly    noted,  is 

tliat  of  lead.     liOad  ore  is  dn^  in  various  parts  of  the  state;  and  there  is 

no  doubt,  hut  it  may  he  found  every   where  in  a  line  of  hills,  reachiiiM 

from  the  Illinois  lead  mines,  near  Rock  River,  (piile  across  the  Missonri. 

TJicso  mines   will  more   properly  be  descri I hmI  under  th(!  head  of  Hit; 

state  of  Illinois.     Fn  speakiu",'  of  the  h^ad  mines  of  Missonri,  we  shall 

confine  ourselves  to  those  which  are  in  tlu'  county  of  VVashinj^lon  ami 

the  region  contiguous.     This  district  extends  n(;arly  an  hundred  miles  in 

lengtli,  and  forty  miles  in  width;  though  discoveries,  as  they  arc  called, 

are  constantly  making  in  the  regions  adjoining,  in  the  one  direction  tpiilo 

to  the  Missouri,  and  in  the  other  to  White    liiver.     But  the  principnl 

'diggings'  are  included  in  anexttMit  of  fd'teen  miles  in  one  direction  and 

thirty  in  the  otlier.     The  centre  of  this«listrict  is  from  50  to  70  miles 

south-west  from  St.  Louis,  and   little  more  than  half  that  distance  from 

Hcrculaneum  on  the  Mississippi,  and  from  MO  to  50  from  St.  (lenevievc. 

The  lead  is  principally   wagoned   from  the  mines  to  both  places,  to  hv 

tlicnce  transported   down  the  Mississij)})!,   and  up  the  Oliio.     A  groal 

number  of  wagons  are  constantly  employed  in  this   occupation.     This 

tract  is  abundantly  watered  by  Big  River  and  its  branches.     No  part  of 

the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  is  watered  by  a  greater  mnnber  of 

clear  and  full  mountain  streams.     These  streams  are  branches  of  IJii,' 

River,   which  is  itself  one  of  the  principal  branches  of  the  Maramec. 

The  hills,  or  mountains  lie  in  alternate  ridges.     Some  are  sterile;  and 

some  have  a  rich  and  productive  soil.     The   vallics  between   them  arc 

almost  unifonnly  fertile.     'J'he  declivity  of  one   ridge  is  covered  willi 

masses  of  crystalizcd  spar  of  every  form  andsi/c.     This  is  called  'miii 

eral  blossom.'     Most  beautiful  samples  may  be  easily  .selected  from  this 

infinite  variety.     It  is  the  custom  not  to  dig  wIktc  it  lies  on  the  surface. 

The  ore  is  sought  where  this  spar  is  found  ;d)OUt  two  feet  below  the  surface. 

The  earth  is  of  a  bright  colour  between  red  and  yellow,  and  the  ore  is 

generally  found  imbedded  in  rock  and  hard  gravel. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  although  a  vast  extent  has  been  dug  over,  througli 
all  this  district,  nothing  like  a  continued  vein  has  yet  been  found.  At  a 
depth  ofncarly  80  feet,  to  which  Mr.  Austin  supk  a  shaft,  a  vein  was  found, 
which  seemed  to  have  more  resemblance  to  those  continued  veins,  or  vial- 
riccs  of  ore,  where,  in  the  language  of  mincralogiists,  ^ic  ore  is  in  silu. 


'v 


■Missoriii. 


yut) 


or  ill  pliicc  iSiil  tlu' \v;ilt  I  ( ;iiiiriiMi|i<iii  this  diir^rintr,  ntui  it  wmh  ubaii- 
ilonol.  or  :ilMlKMiniii(>iis(!  iiimmiilH  of  l<-;i(l,  tliat  liavr  l)C(;n  Hnicltcd 
licic,  (lie  ore  li;iH  liillicifo  Ixrii  loiirid  in  «1cI!icIm'(I  m:isH(.'S,  wot  in  situ;  ami 
;i|i|Kiicii11y  li;iiis|>(tr((<l  llicn;  hy  .some  iiu<x|»lic!il>lc  aixl  pn»<li;;ri()ns  cliangcs 
(li;il  li;iv(!  <lKiii;i(Ml  llic  .stiiicliin!  (»r  the  imrlli  in  all  (liis  ic^ioii.  'rirso 
iiKisscsarc  foMnd  willi  rvcry  «l('«,nc('  of  dip  lo  llu;  liorizoii,  and  from  two 
lo  (wcnty  itM!t  I)cIm\v  the  snrllux-.  'I'lic  opcnilivc  tnincis  loaHo  a  ccrlain 
liactoC  land,  wliicli  issliiii.'d  out  to  llioni.  'riicyiall  (fMli|[i<rin»,nijH)n  this 
spot.  Soiiictiincs  :i  siiiLdc  man  will  di/r  a  ton  of  oro  in  a  day;  and  a^'ain 
li(!  will  di;Lj  a  wed;  willidiil  li;,f|iliiif;  upon  a  Hin;:l(!  pound,  'riio  ili^rfrin^ 
ilscM"  is  a  specie.'-;  ol  f^iiinhliii!';  and  there  are  lew  miners  wluMirc  not 
sl(\-i(lily  addicted  to  this  praetiee.  Innnorality  is  naturally  inspired  hy 
tli(!  pursuit,  so  like  n^Mmhliuir  itself;  and  hy  all  that  is  st.'en,  or  felt  in 
example.  I'\;w  attempts  have  yet  heen  ina<le  lo  mine  upon  scientilie. 
I»riiieiples.  Adventurers  go  as  fancy  directs  tliem.  Tlu-ro  arc  crccda  of 
mineralo^iy  peculiar  lo  lhes(!  wild  people;;  and  not  a  few  heliovc  implicitly 
in  hlelonism,or  1  Ik;  mysteries  of  the  diviiiin;r  rod.  Some,  who  have  long 
resided  here,  and  ohserved  keenly,  and  noted  the  circumstances  that 
usiiiilly  acc(Hiip;iny  the  fmdiii<r  of  ore,  have  acfjuired  a  great  fund  of 
practical  knowledge  ujion  llu;  suhjcc.t.  Discoveries  arc  continually 
making,  and  tlu;  adventurers  Hock  from  one  place  to  another,  according 
lis  the  lami!of  recent  suc<;ess  has  hla/oned  it.  The  names  of  the  prin- 
cipal diggings  arc  as  follow:  llarlon,  Shihholeth,  Lebaum's,  Old  Minos, 
Bryan's,  Pratt's,  Kohhius',  Aslnuldle,  La  Mottc,  a  Joe,  Renault's,  New 
Diggings,  Liberty,  (.'aiion's.  Silver's,  A.  Martin,  &c.  The  business  of 
digging  has  inereased,  and  diminished,  many  times,  according  to  the 
changing  <;ircumstiinces  of  the  country.  Fifty  diggings  are  occupied. 
Something  mort;  thiui  .*$,()()(),()(>(>  pounds  are  annually  smelted,  giving 
employment  to  nearly  1,I2(M)  hands.  The  ore  is  principally  of  that  class 
caUed galena,  and  is  very  rich,  yielding  from  75  to 80  percent.  Sorinicli 
lead  remains  in  tin;  slag,  that  there  are  peoi)le  who  purchase  it,  to  smelt 
it  anew.  A  <;ousi'.lerubIe  jMjrlionof  arsenic  is  driven  from  the  load  while 
it  is  smelling.  The  fumes  of  the  smelling  masses  of  ore  arc  poisonous; 
and  cattl(;di(;  from  licking  the  .s7</g  (luit  is  thrown  out.  In  digging  the 
lead  ore,  zinc,  calamiiie,  and  manganese  are  dug  with  it,  and  arc  thrown 
hy  as  useless.  JJ.irytes  is  also  common  among  the  lead  ore.  Its  great 
specific  gravity,  its  whilciu'ss,  and  susceptibility  of  being  ground  to  an 
impali>able  pow(l(!r,  render  it  a  valuable  addition  to  while  lead.  The 
quality  of  llic  |)aint  is  supposed  to  be  improved  i)y  the  addition.  The 
manufacture  of  red  lead  has  been  attempted.  But  the  making  of  white 
lend,  or  even  sheet  lead  has  not  been  carried  to  any  extent.     Shot  towers 


* 


l\. 


300 


MIKSOIHT* 


aie  erected  at  Ilorculancum  and  at  other  places;  and  ^roaf  quantities' arr 
exported.     The  mine  country  is  remarkable  for  ils  salubrity,  the  number 
of  its  sites  for  water  mills,  the  fertility  of  its  soil,  and  the  enterprise  of  its 
farmers.     No  part  of  the  coimtry,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  so  earnestly 
invites  manufactures,  especially  those  of  lead.     Those  of  iron  have  been 
commenced  on  a  large  sciilo.     These  mines,  if  worked  fo  the  extent  of 
which  they  are  capable,  would  not  only  supply  load  enough  for  the  United 
States,  but  for  the  world.     The  country  where  the   di^fjrin^^s  h:ivc  been 
made,  exhibits  a  curious  spectacle.     Coarse  and  dilapidated  air  furnaces, 
immense  piles  of  slags,  and  all  the  accompaniments  of  smelting,  show 
in  how  many  deserted  places  these  operations  have  been  performed.     The 
earth  thrown  up  in  the  diggings  contains  portions  of  oxidcd  minerals, 
and  acquires  in  the  air  a  brilliant  reddish  line;  and  the  numberless  excav- 
ations have  the  appearance  of  being  graves  for  giants.     It  is  an  hundred 
years  since  the  French  began  to  dig  lead  ore  in  this  region.     Salt  is  made 
in  large  quantities  at  Boone's  Lick,  near  St.  Genevieve,  and  Ilerculaneum. 
Rivers.      This    state   takes   its   name  from  the  Missouri,    which 
empties  into  the  Mississippi  on  its  eastern   limit.      This  is  by  far  the 
largest  tributary  of  the  Mississippi,  bringing  down  more  water  than  the 
Upper  Mississippi  itself.     In  fact,  it  is  a  longer  river  than  the  Mississippi, 
from  its  farthest  source  to  the  Mexican  gulf.     There  are  many  circum- 
stances which  render  it  one  of  the  most  interesting  rivers;  and  it  is  clearly 
the  longest  tributary  stream  on  the  globe.     Many  have  thought  that  fiom 
its  length,  the  amount  of  its  waters,  and  the  circumstance  of  its  commu- 
nicating its  own  character,  in  every  respect,  to  the  Mississippi  below  the 
junction,  it  ought  to  have  been  considered  the   main  river,  and  to  have 
continued  to  bear  its  own  name  to  the  sea.     In  opposition  to  this  claim, 
we  remark,  that  the  valley  of  tiie  Missouri  seems,  in  the  grand  scale  of 
conformation,  to  be  secondary  to  the  Mississippi.     The  Missouri  has  not 
the  general  direction  of  that  river,  which  it  joins  nearly  nt^.right  angles. 
The  valley  of  the  Mississippi  is  wider  than  that  of  the  Missouri,  and  the 
the  river  is  broader.     The  course  of  the  river,  and  the  direction  of  the 
valley  are  the  same,  above  and  below  the  junction  of  the  Missouri. — 
From  these,  and  many  other  considerations,  the  'fatlicr  of  wateis'  seems 
fairly  entitled  to  his  name. 

The  Missouri  has  a  course  of  between  4  and  500  miles  in  tliis  state, 
and  the  whole  of  the  remainder  in  the  territory  of  Missouri.  It  seems 
proper,  therefore,  that  we  should  give  a  general  description  of  this  river, 
as  belonging  to  this  state.  Its  prodigious  length  of  course,  its  uncommon 
turbidness,  its  impetuous  and  wild  character,  and  the  singular  country 
through  which  it  runs,  impart  to  it  a  natural  grandeur  belonging  to  the 


w 


MTsaouni. 


:)01 


h 


siiblimp.  ^Ve  Invo  never  crossed  it,  without  experiencing  a  feeling  of 
that  sort;  nor  without  a  stretch  of  the  imagimition,  to  trace  it  along  its 
immense  distances,  tiirougli  its  distant  regions  to  the  lonely  and  stupen- 
dous mountains  from  which  it  springs. 

It  rises  in  the  llocky  Mountains,  nearly  in  the  same  parallel  with  the 
Mississippi.  Tlie  most  authentic  information  of  the  sources  of  this 
mighty  river,  is  from  its  first  intrepid  American  discoverers,  Lewis  and 
Clarke.  What  may  properly  he  called  the  Missouri,  seems  to  be  formed 
by  three  considerable  branches,  which  unite  not  lar  from  the  bases  of  the 
principal  ranges  of  the  mountains.  To  the  northern  they  gave  the  name 
of  Jefferson,  to  the  middle,  Gallatin,  and  to  the  southern,  Madison. — 
Each  of  these  branches  fork  again  into  a  number  of  small  mountain 
streams.  It  is  but  a  short  distance  from  some  of  these  to  the  head  w;iters 
of  the  Columbia,  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains.  A  person  may 
drink  from  the  spring  sources  of  each,  without  travelling  more  than  a 
mile.  After  this  junction,  the  river  continues  a  considerable  distance  to 
be  still  a  foaming  mountain  torrent.  It  then  spree  Is  into  a  broad  and 
comparatively  gentle  stream  full  of  islands.  Precipito.  peaks  of  black- 
ish rock  frown  over  the  river,  in  perpendicular  elevationi.  of  1,000  feet. 
The  mountains,  whose  bases  it  sweeps,  are  covered  with  terebinthines, 
such  as  pines,  cedars,  and  firs;  and  mountain  sheep  are  seen  bounding  on 
their  summits,  where  they  arc  apparently  inaccessible.  In  this  dis- 
tance the  mountains  have  an  aspect  of  inexpressible  loneliness  and 
grandeur.  ' 

The  river  then  becomes  almost  a  continued  cataract  for  a  distance  of 
about  17  miles.  In  this  distance  its  perpendicular  descent  is  362  feet. 
The  first  fall  is  98  feet;  the  second,  19;  the  third,  47;  the  fourth  26. 
It  continues  rapid  for  a  long  distance  beyond.  Not  far  below  these  falls, 
enters  Maria's  River  from  the  north.  This  is  a  very  considerable  stream. 
Still  farther  down  on  the  opposite  side,  enter  Dearborn  and  Fancy,  each 
about  150  yards  wide.  Manoles  100,  Big  Horn  100,  Muscle  Shell  100, 
Big  Dry  400,  Dry  100,  Porcupine  112;  all  these  enter  from  the  south 
side.  Below  these  enters  the  Roche  Jaune  or  Yellow  Stone,  probably 
the  largest  tributary  of  the  Missouri.  It  rises  in  the  same  ranges  of 
mountains  with  the  main  river,  and  has  many  points  of  resemblance  to  it. 
It  enters  from  the  south  by  a  mouth  850  yards  wide.  It  is  a  broad, 
deep, and  sweeping  river;  and  at  its  junction  appears  the  largest  of  the 
two.  Its  course  is  commonly  calculated  at  1,600  miles.  But  the  sizes 
and  lengths  of  all  these  tributaries  are  probably  overrated.  Its  shores, 
for  a  long  distance  above  its  entrance,  are  heavily  timbered,  and  its 
bottoms  wide,  and  of  the  finest  soil.  Its  entrance  is  deemed  to  be  1,880 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,*  and  was  selected  by  the  govern- 
ment, as  an  eligible  situation  for  a  military  post,  and  an  extensive  settle- 


MO'i 


MI.9SOI  Rf. 


iiionf.     While  hcnrs,  elk,  ami  nioiiiitiiiii  slicrpnro  (lie  principal  nninmls 
.MPC'M  lilouf^  this  part  of  the  rivrr. 

At  the  point  oi'junclioti  with  iho  VfiUow  Stono,  the  Missouri  haswitlt- 
ami  line  hottonis.  Uiifortimatcly,  its  hanks  arc  for  iho  most  part  tlcsliluio 
of  liinhcr,  and  this  for  a  long  scries  of  years  will  prevent  its  cajjacity  for 
habitancy.  White  earth  river  from  the  north  is  a  small  stream,  (j'ooho 
Ilivcr,  300  yards  wide,  comes  in  iVom  the  south  side.  Little  Missouri  is 
.shallow  and  rapid,  and  is  about  l.'JO  yards  wide.  Knife  River  comes  in 
from  the  south  side,  just  above  the  Mandan  villages.  Cannon  ball  River 
enters  from  tlic  south  side,  and  is  1 10  yards  wide.  Winnipenhu,  south 
side.  Hcwarserna,  south  side.  Chicnne  is  represented  to  be  boatahle 
nearly  800  miles,  and  enters  from  the  south  side,  by  a  mouth  400  yards 
wide;  Tyber''s  River  enters  from  the  same  side.  White  River,  beatable 
000  miles  south  side,  is  a  very  beautiful  stream,  and  has  a  mouth  JU)0 
yards  wide.  Poneas,  south  side.  Qui-Courre,  a  fine  stream  with  a 
short  course,  south  side,  and  Riviere,  a  Jaquc,  a  noted  resort  for  traders 
and  trappers;  White  Stone;  Big  Sioux,  and  Floyd's  Rivers.  La  Platte 
enters  from  the  south,  and  has  a  longer  course,  than  any  other  river  of  the 
Missouri.  It  rises  in  the  same  ranges  of  mountains  with  the  parent 
stream,  and  measured  by  its  meanders,  is  supposed  to  have  a  course  of 
2,000  miles,  before  it  joins  that  river.  It  is  nearly  a  mile  in  width  as  its 
entrance;  but  is,  at  its  name  imports  shallow, and  not  boatablc  except  at 
its  highest  flood.  Nodawa,  north  side.  Little  Platte  north  side.  Kansas, 
is  a  large  tributary  from  the  south,  has  a  course  of  1,200  miles;  and  is 
boatable  most  of  the  distance.  Blue  Water,  and  two  or  three  small  streams 
l)elow,  come  in  on  the  south  side.  Grand  river  is  a  large,  long  and  deep 
stream,  boatable  for  a  great  distance,  and  enters  on  the  north  side.  The 
Charatons,  come  in  on  the  same  side.  The  La  Mine  enters  on  the  south 
side.  Bonne  Femmc  and  Manitou,  enter  on  tiic  north  side,  and  Salt  river 
on  the  south. 

The  Osage,  which  enters  on  the  south  side,  is  a  large,  and  very  impor- 
tant stream  of  the  Missouri,  boatable  ()(>0  miles,  and  interlocks  with  the 
waters  of  the  Arkansas.  Three  or  four  inconsiderable  streams  enter  on 
the  opposite  side,  as  Miry,  Otter  and  Cedar  rivers.  On  the  south  side  en- 
ters the  Gasconade,  boatablc  for  sixty-six  miles,  and  is  important  for  hav- 
ing on  its  banks  extensive  pine  forests,  from  which  the  great  supply  of 
plank  and  timber,  of  that  kind  is  brought  to  St.  Charles  and  St.  Louis. 
On  the  south  side,  below  the  Gasconade  are  a  number  of  inconsiderable 
rivers,  as  Buffalo,  St.  John's,  Wood  River,  and  Bonhomme;  and  on  the 
other  side,  the  Charette,  Femme  Osage,  and  one  or  two  other  small 
branches,  before  it  precipitates  itself  into  the  Mississippi. 

The  bottoms  of  this  river  have  a  character,  very  distinguishable  from 
those  of  the  Uj)per  Missisippi.    They  are  higher  not  so  wet,  more  sandy 


MISHOURI. 


.'{().') 


'i 

»; 
f 


Nvitli  Irocs  which ;irr  not  so  la.;![o, but  tailor  nnd  sliaiiiliUi.  lis  alliivionH 
Homolhiiij,'  narrower;  that  is  to  say,  haviiijr  for  \hv.  first  live  hinidrcd 
miles  a  medial  width  of  soinolhiii;^  more  than  four  inilos.  Its  hlufl'M, 
like  those  of  the  other  river,  arep[enerally  litnc  stone,  l>nt  not  so  i)cr|>cn- 
dicular;  nnd  have  more  tendency  to  rnn  into  tin;  iiunmllc  form.  The 
bottoms  abound  with  deer,  turkeys  and  small  ^Mme.  'I'ho  river  seldom 
overflows  any  part  of  its  biinks,  in  this  distanec.  It  is  little  inclined  to  bo 
swampy.  There  are  nuich  fewer  lakes,  bayous,  and  small  pojids,  than 
alon"  the  Mississii>pi.  Prairies  are  .scarcely  seen  on  the  banks  of  tho 
river,  within  the  distance  of  the  first  four  hundred  miles  of  its  course. 
They  are  heavily  tindjcred,  and  yet  from  the  .soflness  of  the  wood,  easily 
cleared.  The  water,  ihoujfh  uncommonly  turbid  with  a  whitish  earth, 
which  it  holds  in  suspension,  soon  and  easily  settles,  and  is  then  remark- 
ably pure,  pleasant  and  healthy.  The  river  is  so  rai)i(l  and  sweeping  in 
its  course,  and  its  bed  is  composed  of  such  masses  of  sand,  that  it  is  con- 
tinually shiftin;,'  its  sand  bars.  A  chart  of  the  river,  as  it  runs  this  year, 
gives  little  ground  for  calculation  in  navigating  it  the  ne.\f.  It  has  nu- 
merous islands,  and  generally  near  Iheni  is  the  most  diflicult  to  be  stem- 
med. Still  more  than  the  Mississippi  below  its  month,  it  tears  up  in  one 
place,  and  deposits  in  another;  and  makes  more  powerful  and  frequent 
changes  in  its  channel,  than  any  other  western  river. 

Its  bottoms  arc  considerably  settled  for  a  distance  of  four  hundred 
miles  above  its  mouth.  That  of  Charaton  is  the  highest  compact  settle- 
ment. But  the  largest  and  most  poi)ulous  settlement  in  the  state  is  that 
called  Boone's  Lick  or  Franklin  county.  Indeed,  there  are  American 
settlers,  here  and  there,  on  the  bottoms,  above  Platte,  and  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  state  of  Missouri.  Above  the  Platte  the  open  and  prairie 
character  of  the  country  begins  to  develope.  The  prairies  come  quite  in 
to  the  banks  of  the  river;  and  stretch  from  it  indefinitely,  in  naked  grass 
plains,  where  the  traveller  may  wander  for  days,  without  seeing  cither 
wood  or  water.  The  '  Council  Blulls'  are  an  important  military  station, 
about  six  hundred  miles  up  the  Missouri.  Beyond  this  point  commen- 
ces a  country  of  great  interest  and  grandeur  and  denominated,  by  way  of 
eminence,  the  Upper  Missouri.  TJie  country  is  composed  of  vast  and  al- 
most boundless  grass  plains,  through  which  stretch  the  Platte,  the  Yellow 
Stone,  and  the  other  rivers  of  this  ocean  of  grass.  The  savages  of  this 
region  have  a  peculiar  physiognomy  and  modes  of  life.  It  is  a  country, 
where  commence  new  tribes  of  plants.  It  is  the  iiome  of  buflaloes,  elk, 
white  bears,  antelopes  and  mountain  sheep.  Sometimes  the  river  washes 
the  bases  of  the  dark  hill  of  a  friable  and  crumbling  soil.  Here  are  found, 
as  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  other  respectable  travellers  relate,  large  and  sin- 
gular petrifactions,  botii  animal  and  vegetable.     On  the  \o[t  of  one  of 


:t()i 


MiHftnnii. 


lliese  liills  \\\oy  foumi  llie  petrified  sktlcton  of  a  liiijrc  fisli,  forty  fivr-  fwt 
in  length.  The  herds  of  the  ^rej/arions  aiiitnalH,  |Kirtic;iilarly  th(!  huHidoes, 
arc  innumcrahlc.  Sueh  is  the  fjjeneral  eharacler  of  tlie  eoiinlry,  until  wo 
como  in  contact  with  the  spurs  of  the  Rocky  MonntainH. 

As  far  lis  the  limilfl  of  the  state,  this  river  is  capaltle  of  support ifiif  ji 
dcnde  popuhition,  for  n  considcrnhle  distance  troni  its  hanks.  Ahovc 
those  limits  it  is  generally  too  desfiluto  of  wooil,  to  become  hahitabh,'  by 
any  other  people,  than  hunters  and  shepherds.  All  the  <,Meat  tributarifs 
of  this  river  arc  copies,  more,  or  less  exact,  of  llie  parent  s4reain.  One 
general  remark  applies  to  the  whole  country.  The  rivers  have  narrow 
mar;,'ins  of  fertility.  The  country  as  it  recedes  from  tli(>  river,  becomes 
more  and  more  arid,  sandy  and  destitute  of  water,  until  it  ai)proximat03 
in  character  the  sandy  deserts  of  Arabia. 

The  Osage,  is  one  of  the  principal  tributaries  of  the  Missouri  in  tliia 
state.     It  comes  in  on  the  south  side  of  the  Missouri,  one  hundred  and 
thirty  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi.     At  its  moutli  it  is 
nearly  four  hundred  yards  wide.     Its  general  course  is  from  south  to 
north;  and  the  best  cotton  country  in  the  state  of  Missouri  is  on  its  head 
waters.     Its  principal  branches  are  Mary's,  Big  Bone,  Yimgar,  Potatoe, 
and  Grand  Fork  rivers.     Yungar  is  nearly  as  large,  as  the  parent  stream; 
and  is  navigable  for  small  crafts,  except  at  its  grand  cascade,  for  nearly 
an  hundred  miles.     The  cascade  is  a  great  cataract  of  ninety  feet  fall. 
When  the  river  is  full,  the  roar  is  heard  far  through  the  desert.  It  is  a  fine 
country,  through  which  the  river  runs.     The  banks  arc  timbered,  and 
abound  with  game,  particularly  bears.     An  interesting  missionary  station 
is  situated  on  its  waters.     This  station  is  under  the  care  of  the  '  Ameri" 
can  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,'  and  has  many  Indian   children  in  its 
school;  and  it  is  in  a  flourishing  condition.     The  Maramec  is  a  beautiful 
river,  which  runs  through  the  mineral  region,  and  enters  the  Mississippi 
eighteen  miles  below  St.  liouis.     It  is  between  two  and  three  hundred 
yards  wide  at  its  mouth;  and  beatable  in  time  of  high  waters  200  miles. 
Big  river,  Bourbon,  and  Negro  Fork  arc  branches  of  this  river,  which  in 
their  turn  are  fed  by  numerous  mountain  streams.     Bonhommc  is  an  in- 
considerable stream,  and  enters  the  Missouri  twenty-eight  miles  above  its 
mouth.     We  have  already  named  the  Gasconade,  so  important  to  this 
country  from  the  supplies  of  pine  plank  and  lumber,  with  which  it  fur- 
nishes the  country  below  it.     There  is  a  great  number  of  considerable 
streams,  which  enters  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi  from  the  soutli, 
whose  names  we  have  already  mentioned.    The  principal  are  the  swash- 
ing, Gabouricj  Saline  and  Apple  Creek.     St  Francis  and  Wjiite  River 
with  their  numerous  branches  rise  in  this  slate.     Above  St.  Louis  on  the 
eastern  limits  of  the  state,  a  number  of  considerable  rivers  enter  the 


MinSOl  ni. 


aoj 


i 


I'pprr  Mirtsisftippi.  !\s  Danlnmc,  Cuiviv.  Suit  Uiviir,  ami  Two  Rivcru. — 
Of  ilii'HiNSult  Ku  I  1=  till!  nu)st  ci»nHi(lrral)lo, liaviny  iv  Imatable  courHCof 
10  or  ')<)  miU'-^-  Tliin  river  watcrH  na  line  n  tract  of  country  ns  any  in  tlio 
Htalc.  Tin;  laud-'  in:  also  oncellmi  ahout  Two  UivcrH.  There  arc  fifly 
other  streaniH  in  thof<ta(o  that,  in  lh(  winter  carry  conHidcrnhle  water,  an<l 
in  sununt'r  borofll'^  dry.  Thi-^  ciVfinintancr,  cnnunon  to  ilic  smaller 
:<froami! over  all  tho\u.-if.  is  pecitliafly  ^^<>  here,  where  the  intense  ardor  of 
t)i(!  summer's  siin,  the  s:in<ly  nature  of  the  fjuil,  the  unfrequency  of  sum- 
mer raiiis,the«lryn(!ss  of  the  at  mosphero  and  the  nntimU'rfd  and  oi)enf.ic(»  of 
the  country,  all  ronsi»ir(>  to  dry  up  all  slrrauis,  hut  those  that  are  supplied 
by  perennial  spriii!j;s.  or  hy  continued  ran<ir.s  of  hij,'li  hills.  From  this 
cause,  and  from  the  levolness  of  the  jrennral  face  of  the  country,  mill 
.scats,  eonimandin;/  a  l.isfin^'  water  power,  are  uncommon.  It  it)  well 
known,  that  w<'sleru  husbandmen  universally  |)refer  a  spring;  to  a  well, 
wiiere  they  can  obtain  the  one  or  the  other.  It  is  considered  an  esi'ontial 
requisite,  in  the  capability  of  a  tract  of  land  to  be;  settled,  that  it  should 
have  a  spring  on  it.  There  are,  however,  large  tracts  of  the  richest  land 
in  this  state  so  level,  as  to  bo  incapable  of  springs;  and  here  the  farmers 
arc  obliged  to  resort  to  wells. 

Game,  Sfc.  The  hunter  will  fmd  in  no  country  a  finer  field  for  his 
IMirsuits.  In  the  unsettled  parts  bears  are  still  sufllcicntly  common  to  bo 
hunted,  as  an  employment.  Thcoilof  ihebear  is  an  article  of  extensive 
culinary  use.  Deer  are,  ui  some  places,  almost  as  numerous  as  the  do- 
mestic cattle.  Wild  turkeys  furnish  admirable  sport  to  the  gunner.  In 
the  last  of  autumn  and  the  first  of  winter,  prairie  hens  are  seen  in  Hocks. 
Partridges  are  fre(|uent  all  the  year.  Sqiiiircls,  ground-hogs,  wood-chucks, 
and  raccoons  abound.  Wolves,  ixmthers,  and  wild  cats  are  but  too  com- 
mon. In  all  the  considerable  rivers  fisli  are  abundant.  But  they  are 
generally  large,  coarse,  and  of  an  inferior  quiility. 

Chief  Towns.  St.  licuis  is  tlie  commercial  capital  of  Missouri,  and 
the  largest  town  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  situated  18  miles  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  between  oO  and  40  below  tlic  mouth  of 
Illinois,  and  nearly  200  nbove  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Nature  .seldom 
oflois  a  more  delightful  sito  for  a  town.  In  many  respects,  it  resembles 
that  of  Albany  in  New  York.  It  is  on  a  kind  of  .second  bottom,  that 
rises  gently  from  the  water  to  a  second  bank.  The  ascent  to  this  is  not 
at  all  precipitous.  Having  surmounted  this  bank,  an  extensive  plain 
opens  to  view.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  town,  this  plain  is  cov- 
ered with  bushes  and  shrub  oaks.  I^eyond  is  an  extensive  belt  of  grassy 
plain,  or  naked  prairie.  The  timber  within  nine  or  ten  miles  has  been  cut 
away  for  fuel.  In  summer  the  eye  reposes  with  pleasure  upon  this  sweep 
of  verdure,  bounded  on  the  verge  of  the  horizon   wiUi   forests.     But  in 

39 


i 


306 


MISSOURI. 


.» 


winter  tJie  prospect  is  bleak  and  desolate.     Tlie  eye  always  dwells  witJ< 
delight  upon  tlio  level  liottom  and  the   noble  forest  upon   the  opposite 
sliore  of  the  river.     In  ISl  1  there  were  but  few  American  houses  in  the 
place.     There  were  a  few  stone  houses  covered  with  plaster.     The  cir- 
cular ^onc  forts  beyond  the  town,  wliite  with  plaster,  and  the  hoarines.s 
of  a<!c,  together  with  the  wliitcness  of  ihc  houses  in  general,  from  the 
French  fashion  of  annual  white-wasliing,  gave  tlic  town  a  romantic  and 
imposing  appearance,  when  seen  from  a  distance.     With  the  exception  of 
two  or  three  aristocratic  establishmcnls,  when  contemplated  near  at  hand, 
tlie  houses  were   mean,  frail,  and  uncomfortable  establishments.     The 
streets  were  narrow  and  dirty,  and  it  was  in  fact  a  disagreeable  town  — 
A  new  impulse  was  given  to  tlie  town  by  American  laws,  enterprize  and 
occupancy.     Most  of  the  houses  tliat  have  been  added  within  tlie  last  ten 
years,  have  been  of  brick  or  stone.     Some  of  the  public   buildings  are 
handsome.     There  arc  two  respectable  protestant  churclies.     The  catholic 
catliedral  was  intended  to  be  a  magnificent  structure.     It  is  not  yet  com- 
pleted. A  spacious  lown  house  is  a  great  ornament  to  the  city.  The  town 
has  extended  itself  along  the  hill,  and  some  of  the  best  houses  are  on  that 
delightful  elevation.     The  houses,  in  18'20,  were  reckoned  at  more  than 
600.     By  the  census  of  1830  it  contained  2,503  free  males;  1,889  free 
femajes;  1,068  slaves;  287  free  persons  of  color.     Toial  6,604.     The 
town  was  then  stationary,  or  perhaps  retrograde.     But  since  that  time  tlie 
lead  business  has  been  reanimated  by  a  protecting  duly  upon  foreign  lead. 
The  fur  trade  has  received  a  new  impulse.     The  town  has  recovered  from 
the  shock  caused  by  ihc  flnlure  of  its  Banks.     It  has  at  present  a  branch 
of  the  United  States  Bank.     A  healthy  circulation  has  been  restored, 
and  the  town  is  now  rapidly  increasing  in  business  and  population.     In 
the  year  1818,  100  houses  were  added  to  the  place.     The  principal  street 
is  more  than  a  mile  in  length.     TJu'ee  or  four  gazettes  are  printed  here. 
There  is  an  Academy,  a  Catholic  seminary,  and  a  number  of  respectable 
schools.      The  French  have  communicated  to  the  people  a  taste  for  gar- 
dening; and  tliere  are  a  number  of  very  handsome  gardens  in  and  about 
the  town.     Very  few  towns  in  the  United   States,  or  <'"^   world,  have  a 
more  mixed  population.     Among  the  original  inhabitants,  tliere  is  no  in- 
considerable sprinkling  of  Indian   blood.     The   American   population 
predominates  over  the  French;  and  is  made  up  of  immigrants  from  all 
the  states.     It  is  a  central  point  in  the  Mississippi  valley  for  immigrants, 
and  adventurers  of  every  character.     Making  due  allowance  for  this  cir- 
cumstance, the  people  are  generally  quiet  and  descent  in  their  manners. 
Many  adventurers  come  here,  and  find  themselves  in  a  position  to  claim 
a  standing  in  society,  which  they  have  not  been  accustomed  to  possess. 
Hence  the  occasions  for  broils,  from  supposed  neglect,  contempt,  or 


:.■„      Jt*'' 


# 


ys  dwells  mih 
tlic  opposite 
1  houses  in  tlie 
ter.     Tiio  cir- 
[1  the  hoarincsH 
oral,  from  the 
romantic  and 
le  exception  of 
(1  near  at  hand, 
!hments.     The 
able  town  — 
enterprize  and 
lin  the  last  ten 
huildings  are 
The  catholic 
s  not  yet  com- 
ity. The  town 
ses  are  on  that 
1  at  more  than 
es;  1,889  free 
0,094.     The 
that  time  the 
n  foreign  lead, 
ecovered  from 
3scnt  a  branch 
ieen  restored, 
)pulation.    In 
>rincipal  street 
printed  here. 
3f  respectable 
taste  for  gar- 
in  and  about 
rvorld,  have  a 
iiere  is  no  in- 
n   population 
rants  from  all 
r  immigrants, 
:e  for  this  cir- 
fieir  manners, 
ition  to  claim 
id  to  possess. 
:on tempt,  or 


MISSOURI. 


lion 


questioning  of  chunutor  arc  numerous; and  fatal  rencontres, denominated 
'affairs  of  honor,"'  are  a  bloody  stain  upofl  the  character  of  tJiC  place- 
There  is  a  Presbyterian,  Baptist,  Methodist,  and  Catholic  Society  in  tlie 
town;  and  the  institutions  of  religion  are  beginning  to  have  considerable 
effect  upon  the  manners  and  moral  character  of  flic  people.  Whoever 
observes  the  position  of  this  town  on  the  map,  will  see,  .tltat  it  is  very 
favorably  situated  to  become  a  town  of  supply  of  merchandise  to  a  vast 
tract  of  country.  In  the  centre  of  the  Mississippi  valley^  commanding 
the  trade  of  the  Missouri,  the  Upper  INIissiysiiipi,  and  the  Illinois,  the 
capital  of  a  very  extonsrve  fur  trade,  and  the  depot  for  as  rich  Bead  mines 
as  are  in  the  world,  it  must  necessarily  become  a  large  town.  It  has  one 
obvious  advantage  over  any  town  on  the  Ohio.  Steam  boats  can  corfie 
to  St.  Louis  from  New  Orleans,  at  the  lowest  stage's  of  the  water.  It  is 
very  common  for  travellers  from  the  Atlantic  country,  who  are  bound  in 
the  auturrin  to  New  Orleans,  to  take  passage  from  Cincinoali  across  the 
country  to  St.  Louis,  in  order  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantage  of  a 
direct  passage  to  N(!W  Orleans  in  a  steam  boat.  The  lowness  of  the 
water  in  the  Ohio,  and  the  difficulty  of  pat;sing  over  the  falls  at  Louisville, 
render  a  direct  steam  boat  passage  from  Cincinnati  to  New  Orleans,  at 
that  season  of  the  year,  an  uncommon  occurrence,  A  great  number  of 
keel  boats,  and  river  crafts  of  all  descriptions,  bound  to  all  points  of  the 
beatable  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  arc  seen  at  all  seasons  lying  in  the 
harbor  at  St.  Louis.  Miners,  trappers,  hunters,  adventurers,  immigrants, 
and  people  of  all  characters  and  languages,  with  all  kinds  of  views  and 
objects,  meet  here,  and  in  pursuit  of  their  various  projects,  scatter  hence  to 
the  remotest  points  of  the  valley.  The  moral  character  of  this  town,  so 
rapidly  approaching  tlie  rank  and  consequence  of  a  city,  is  rising.  It 
still  furnishes  a  temporary  home  to  desperate  and  abandoned  characters, 
who  hope,  in  crossing  the  Mississippi,  to  fly  beyond  law  and  conscience. 
The  character  of  the  permanent  inhabitants  is  respectable.  Good  regu- 
lations of  every  sort  arc  advancing.  The  Sabbath  is  respected;  and  a 
wholesome  police  is  establishing.  Such  a  stream  of  immigrants  is  con- 
tinually pouring  in,  and  the  people  have  so  learned  the  habit  of  distrust, 
that  hospitality  to  strangers  is  not  a  characteristic  of  the  people. 

St.  Genevieve  is  situated  at  the  upper  extremity  of  a  beautiful  alluvial 
prairie,  about  a  mile  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  built  on  the  Gabourie,  a 
small  creek  which  is  occasionally  beatable.  The  town  contains  a  Catholic 
church,  some  neat  French  houses,  a  great  many  indiiferent  ones  and  but  few 
American  establishments.  The  situation  of  the  village  is  happy.  Much 
lead  is  brought  here  for  exportation ;  and  yet  the  town  does  not  appear  to 
thrive,  not  possessing  more  inhabitants  tlian  it  did  30  years  ago.  Tlie 
present  number  is  about  1 ,500.    The  prairie  below  the  town  is  of  extreme 


■I 


4^- 


v^ 


308 


Missornr. 


.1 


fertility,  containing  0,OtK)  acres,  IJ'nccd  and  cullivated  in  common.  On 
the  liill,  west  of  the  tONvn,  is  a  handsome  building  erected  for  an  academy. 
From  this  place  is  a  magnificent  view  of  the  village,  tiie  bluffs  above,  the 
prairie  below,  and  the  I\Ii?sissippi  hJweepinsr  along  in  the  distance.  The 
Catholic  worship  is  the  prevailing  one;  and  the  inhabitants  are  principally 
French. 

Jackson,  the  county  town  of  Cape  Girardeau  (county,  twelve  miles 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  is  a  respectable  village,  containing  100  houses, 
some  of  them  handsomely  built  of  brick.  It  is  in  the  centre  of  one  of 
the  most  populous  and  thriving  counties  in  the  state. 

Cape  Girardeau  is  on  a  beautiful  bluH'  on    the  Mississippi,   50  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  tiie  Ohio.     It  has  a  tine  harbor  for  boats,  and  com- 
mands a  noble  view  of  the  river  above  and  below,     it  exliibils  symptoms 
of  decay.     About  this  town,  that  beautiful  tree,  called  yellow  poplar,  or 
lulipifcra   Imodendron,  attains  its  utmost  devclopement.     Potosi  is  the 
county  town  of  Washington,  and  the  centre  of  the  mine  district.     It  is 
situated  in  a  pleasant  valley,  surrounded  by  hills,  (55  miles  south-west 
from  St.  Louis,  and  45  west  from  St.  Genevieve.     St.  Michael  is  an  old 
French  village  among  the  mines.     There  are  a  number  of   other  small 
villages  in  the  mine  district.     H'erculaneum  is  situated  on  the  west  bank 
of  tlie  Mississippi,  30  miles  below  St.  Louis,  on  a  narrow  alluvial  plain, 
hemmed  in  on  all  sides,  but  the  river,  by  high  and  romantic  blufls,  ren- 
dered still  more  imposing  by  a  number  of  shot   towers   placed  on  their 
summits.     This  is  the  chief  place  of  dc])osit  for  the  lead  of  the  lead  mines. 
New  Madrid  is  situated  on  the  Mississippi,  50  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio.     This  small  village  was  once  much  more  considerable  than  it  now 
is.     It  is  memorable  for  the  romantic  history  of  its  origin  under  General 
Morgan  in  the  times  of  the  Spanish  regime,  and  for  the   terrible  earth 
quakes  which  it  experienced  in  1811  and  1812.     These  earthquakes  were 
}nore  .^verc  tlian  any  on  the  records  of  our  part  of  the  continent.     The 
western  country  was  shook  in  every  direction.     Thousands  of  acres  were 
sunk,  and   multitudes  of  lakes  and  ponds   were   created.     The  church 
yard  of  this  village,  with  all  its  sleeping  tenants,  was  precipitated  into 
the  river.     The  trees  lashed   together,   were   thrown   down,  or  bent  in 
every  direction.     The  eartli  burst,  in  what  were  called  sand   blows. — 
Eartli,  sand,  and  water  were  thrown  up  to  great  heights  in  the  air.    Tlic 
river  was  dammed  up,  and  flowed  backwards.     Birds  descended  from  the 
air,  and  took  shelter  in  the  bosoms  of  people   that  were   passing.    The 
whole  country  was  inundated.     A  great  number  of  boats,  pasBing  on  the 
river,  were  sunk.     One  or  two,  that  were  fastened  to  islands,  were  sunk 
with  the  islands.     The  country  was  but  sparsely  peopled,  and  most  of 
the  buildings,  fortunately,  were  cabins,  or  of  logs;  and  from  these  cir- 


MISSOURI. 


;n)9 


ciimstances,  Pew  ppoplo  perislicxi.  No  country  cnn  recount  a  history  of 
fiirlhquakcs,  altenvlod  with  more  terrific  circumstances  of  commotion  in 
ilie  elements,  and  threatening  more  exterminating  war  with  man  and 
nature,  than  this.  The  thriving  country  ahout  tliis  village  was  desolated; 
and  as  the  cartliquakes  continued  in  gentler  shocks,  and  have  not  ceased 
even  to  this  time,  Ihcre  seemed  to  he  good  reason  for  ahandoning  the 
country.  The  ijcoplc  arc  becoming  more  assured  with  respect  to  the 
I'liliuc,  and  New  Madrid  is  gradually  emerging  from  its  prosti'atibn. 

There  is  a  large  and  fine  tract  of  alluvial  and  prairie  country  b^ick  of 
tliis  village.  Tiie  Big  Prairie,  about  twelve  miles  distant,  is  a  charming 
ppot  for  farmers.  But  from  the  munber  of  lakes,  created  by  the  earth- 
(|uakes,  and  from  the  extent  of  the  swampy  and  imuidated  country  in  its 
vicinity,  the  country  about  New  Madrid  has  the  reputation  of  being  un- 
Jicplthy.  A  bayou,  that  enters  the  river  just  above  the  village,  creates  a 
great  eddy  and  an  admirable  harbor;  iuid  New  Madrid  is  next  to  Natchez, 
the  most  noted  landing  place  for  boats  on  the  Mississippi  above  N.  Orleans. 

;">t.  Charles  on  tlic  Mis.souri  is  a  pleasant  village  of  about  1,200  inhab- 
itants. There  is  one  long  street,  on  which  are  a  number  of  handsome 
brick  buildings.  It  is  situated  twenty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  and  the  same  distance  north-west  of  St.  Louis.  The  banks  be- 
tween the  village  and  the  river  are  of  solid  lime  stone ;  and  above  the 
village  we  ascend  by  a  moderate  acclivity  to  a  beautiful  plateau  of  great  ex- 
tent. These  bluiTs  command  a  noble  view  of  the  Missouri  and  its  islands. 
Back  of  the  village  is  a  large  extent  of  level  country,  covered  with  hazle 
copses,  yielding  abundance  of  wild  hops,  grapes  and  prairie  plums.  Two 
miles  1;  low  the  town,  opens  the  beautiful  Point  Prairie.  We  know  of  no 
place  in  hie  western  country,  that  has  a  more  interesting  country  adjoin- 
ing it,  than  this  village.  There  is  a  protestant  and  a  catholic  church 
here.  It  was  for  a  number  of  years  the  political  metropolis  of  the  state. 
There  are  fine  farms  in  the  vicinity,  and  the  inhabitants  are  noted  for 
their  sober  and  orderly  habits.  About  one  third  of  them  arc  FrencJi. 
Carondelet  is  a  small  French  village,  six  miles  below  St.  Louis.  Many 
of  the  garden  vegetables,  sold  in  St.  Louis  market,  are  raised  here.  Troy 
Louisiana ville  and  Petersburg  are  small  villages  on  the  Upper  Mississippi 
and  its  waters.  Jelferson,  a  new  town  above  the  mouth  of  the  Osage  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Missouri,  since  the  seat  of  government  was  removed 
there,  has  become  the  position  of  the  public  buildings;  but  not  being  a 
fortunate  selection,  has  not  greatly  prospered.  Franklin  is  situated  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Missourt,  150  miles  by  land  above  St.  Louis,  and 
more  than  200  by  the  river.  It  is  estimated  to  contain  over  200  houses; 
and  about  one  thousand  two  htvjidred  inhabitants.  It  is  surrounded 
by  the  largest  body  of   rich  land  in  the  state;    and  is  the  centre 


!:M 


.■>    '^ 


,* 


310 


MISSOT'RI. 


of  a  populous  region  of  riclinnd  respectable  furmors.  Buonville,  opposite 
Franklin,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Missouri,  was  ori»,'inally  settled  by 
Col.  Boone,  the  patriarch  of  Kentucky.  Charaton  is  a  small  village  at 
the  mouth  of  a  river  of  the  same  name.  Bluft'ton  is  a  village  upon  the 
same  side  of  the  river,  and  still  higher  on  it,  being  in  fact,  but  a  little  dis- 
tance within  the  western  territorial  limits  of  the  state. 

Constitution,  Liups,  S^c.  This  state  adopted  hef  constitution,and  was 
admitted  into  the  union  in  1820.  In  its  general  features  it  resembles 
those  of  the  other  slates.  Tiic  senators  arc  elected  for  four  years,  and 
the  representatives  for  two.  The  governor  is  elected  for  four  years. 
Tiie  judiciary  is  vested  in  a  supreme  court,  a  chancellor's  couit,  and  cir- 
cuit, and  other  subordinate  courts,  the  judges  of  which  hold  their  offices', 
during  good  behaviour.  Every  fieo  citizen,  who  has  resided  a  year  in 
the  .state,  and  the  last  three  montlis  preceding  tlic  election,  in  the  dis- 
trict, is  entitled  to  his  vote  in  that  district.  It  is  well  known,  that  the 
article  which  allowed  slavery,  in  the  constitution,  was  long  and  bitterly 
contested  in  the  national  legislature. 

Manners,  S^c.  The  same  provisions  arc  made  for  education,  as  in 
most  of  the  other  western  states.  In  the  towns  and  villages  there  arc 
respectable  schools;  and  the  people  generally  are  impressed  with  ^lic 
importance  and  necessity  of  educating  their  children.  But  there  are 
too  many  rude  and  ignorant  people  here,  as  in  all  the  western  country, 
wlio  affirm  that  they  have  been  enabled  to  go  through  life  comfortably, 
without  education;  and  that  their  children  are  as  able  to  do  so,  as  they 
were.  There  are  schools,  dignified  with  the  name  of  academies,  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  state.  The  Catholics  have  two  or  three  establish- 
ments o{  religious,  who  receive  young  ladies  for  instruction.  There  is  a 
tlieological  school  of  some  distinction  in  the  barrens  below  St.  Genevieve 
for  the  preparation  of  Catholic  clcvcs  for  the  ministry.  In  St.  Louis  society 
exhibits  the  same  aspect  as  in  other  towns  of  a  like  size  in  the  United 
States.  It  must  be  admitted  that  in  the  interior  there  is  a  perceptible 
shade  of  the  roughness  of  people,  who  are  far  removed  from  the  bosom 
of  society.  The  roughness  of  the  backwoodsmen  is  often,  however, 
accompanied  with  an  open  hospitality,  an  honest  simplicity,  a  genuine 
kindness  of  heart,  which  render  a  residence  among  them  quite  as  pleasant, 
as  in  those  regions,  where  observance,  and  public  opinion  have  created  a 
greater  degree  of  apparent  refinement.  It  might  be  expected,  that  a 
country  almost  boundless,  with  few  barriers  of  law,  or  local  limits  of 
habitancy  and  property,  an  extent  of  nearly  1,000  leagues  towards  the 
Western  Sea,  would  be  the  natural  resort  of  wild  and  adventurous  spirits, 
whose  object  was,  as  they  often  express  it,  to  fly  ^beyond  Sabbath.''  It  is 
80  in  fact.     But  there  is  more  order  and  quietness,  regulated  society,  and 


1 


^^'■ 


MISSOURI. 


311 


correct  public  opinion,  llian  in  such  a  state  of  things  vvc  should  have  a 
right  to  expect.  There  is  an  increasing  number  of  religious  societies, 
among  which  tiic  Mctliodists  are  the  most  numerous.  The  Presbyterians 
and  Baptists  have  also  many  congregations  and  churches.  The  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians  are  making  considerable  progress.  The  French  and 
Irish  people  are  for  the  most  part  Catholics.  The  number  of  Catholic 
congregations,  probably,  exceeds  that  of  any  particular  denomination  of 
the  Protestants.  The  spirit  of  religious  tolerance  prevails  to  an  excellent 
degree.  Neighbors  and  relatives  worship  in  churches  of  different  de- 
nominations, without  disturbing  the  intercourse  of  common  life. 

The  French  of  this  country  have  their  characteristic  national  manners, 
and  arc  the  same  gay  and  happy  people.  Those  among  them,  that  have 
standing,  wealth,  and  education,  show  no  other  differences  of  character 
from  the  same  classes  of  other  nations,  except  such  as  result  from  their 
national  temperament  and  manners.  The  poorer  French  have  an  unique 
and  peculiar  character.  They  were  born  in  the  woods,  or  at  least  far 
from  society.  Tiiey  have  been  accustomed  from  infancy  rather  to  the 
life  of  huntsnieuj  trappers,  and  boatmen,  than  of  husbandmen.  They 
generally  make  indifferent  farmers.  Their  cabin  indeed  shows  well  at  a 
distance;  and  the  mud  daubing  is  carefully  white  washed.  They  have 
gardens  neatly  laid  out,  and  kept  clean  of  weeds.  Beyond  this  the  es- 
tablishments of  the  pctits  paysans  are  generally  sterile  and  comfortless. 
Their  ancestors  were  accustomed  to  continual  intercourse  with  the  savages, 
and  in  habits  of  travelling  many  hundred  leagues  from  their  habitations 
in  canoes,  or  on  the  banks  of  the  streams,  to  hunt,  procure  furs  and  honey, 
or  to  traffic  with  the  Indians.  They  were  accustomed  to  the  prompt  and 
despotic  mandate  of  a  commandant.  They  were  prepared  to  entertain 
but  very  inadequate  ideas  of  the  inestimable  value  of  the  mild,  but  pro- 
tracted dispensation  of  justice  m  our  courts.  They  regarded  our  laws 
as  a  bottomless  gulf;  and  had,  for  a  long  time  after  they  came  under  our 
governrnent,  a  salutary  dread  of  a  proccs,  which  had  a  happy  influence, 
to  deter  them  from  litigation.  Familiarity  with  our  decisions  has  gradu-  . 
ally  lessened  this  dread;  and  wlien  they  once  acquire  a  passion  for  litiga- 
tion, they  are  more  keen  in  pursuit  of  their  object,  than  the  Americans. 
It  is  an  unpleasant  reflection,  that  while  we  have  given  them  political 
consideration,  and  learned  them  the  value  of  land,  and  the  necessity  of 
cultivation,  the  comforts  of  municipal  life,  and  the  importance  of  educa- 
tion, we  have  also  communicated  to  them  a  passion  for  litigation,  and  a 
fondness  for  ardent  spirits.  They  are  intermarrying  and  amalgamating 
with  the  Anglo-Americans.  But  even  yet,  on  entering  a  village,  com- 
posed of  ecjual  divisi(ms  of  French  and  American  population,  the  French 
are  seen,  as  a  distinct  people,  by  their  stature,  gait,  complexion,  houses. 


312 


"■.*■ 

MISSOURI. 


and  the  appcarnncc  of  tlicir  children.  Thoy  nrc  sm:illor  in  slaturo; 
have  a  different  costunic,  walk  quicker,  have  more  meagre  forms,  ami 
more  tanned  and  sallow  complexions.  They  how  w  ith  more  <Trace — arc 
more  fluent  in  conversation,  and  those  arc  almost  universal  traits.  Tho 
Kcntuckian,  who  lives  beside  them,  is  hc/ivicr,  has  a  rounder  and  fuller 
face,  a  more  clear  and  ruddy  complexion,  bows  less  gracefully,  or  pcrhnpg 
not  at  all.  He  pays  no  compliments.  But  we  place  greater  relianc(! 
upon  his  word  and  the  sincerity  of  his  friendship.  The  wives  of 
the  French  of  this  class  are  accustomed  to  more  drudgery  and  submis- 
sion, than  tliose  of  their  American  neighl)ors,  and  there  is  a  much  nearer 
assimilation  to  Indian  thoughts  and  habit.'^,  than  there  is  in  our  people. 
Tlrey  are  slow  in  adopting  our  improvements  in  dress,  agriculture,  and 
all  that  concerns  their  domestic  establishment.  They  arc  strongly  at- 
tached to  the  ways  of  their  forefathers;  and  are  generally  bigotted  Calli- 
olics.  They  have  the  national  gaitie  du  cocur,  the  French  enviable 
cheerfulness  under  all  circumstances.  They  are  generally  temperate  and 
sober;  and  from  their  manner  of  life  bettor  calculated  to  endure  the  ex- 
tremes of  heat  and  cold,  than  the  Americans.  They  support  the  vicissi- 
tudes of  climate  better;  and  are  not  so  mueh  exposed  to  diseases  of  tlip 
country.  They  make  excellent  boatsmen.  huntsmen,  and  cniircurs  ihi 
hois.  Their  fondness  for  conversation  and  /racra.srric  prevents  their 
living  in  detached  and  solitary  houses,  like  the  Americans,  and  they  gen- 
erally fix  themselves  in  compact  villages. 

The  Catholic  worship  has  the  same  hold  of  their  affections,  which  it 
had  of  the  hearts  of  their  forefathers,  two  centuries  ago.  Their  venera- 
tion for  their  priests  is  unlimited;  and  tlie  latter  dare  rely  upon  a  credu- 
lity, which,  in  other  Catholic  countries,  has  long  since  passed  away. — 
For  instance,  they  had,  not  many  years  since,  processions  to  pray  tlio 
Mississippi  down,  when  it  threatened  a  desolating  inundation,  and  to 
banish  tl»e  locusts  by  the  intercession  of  the  saints.  So  firmly  are  tlicy 
fixed  in  their  religious  opinions,  that  they  are  apt  to  regard  protostant 
efforts  to  convert  them,  not  as  arrogant  only,  but  impious.  To  all  attcmpls 
which  protestant  missionaries  have  made,  to  change  them  to  our  fiit!), 
they  find  a  reply,  but  too  unanswerable,  in  the  dissipated  and  immoral 
life  of  their  protestant  neighbors. 

History.  The  general  annals  of  Upper  Louisiana  have  already  been 
given.  St.  Louis  was  founded  in  1704,  by  Pierre  Lnclade,  Maxan  and 
company.  The  principal  inhabitants  were  fro.'  < '.mada.  Jt  was  con- 
ceived to  be  a  favorable  point  for  concentrating  the  fur  and  Indian  trade 
of  the  upper  and  lower  Miss.ouri  and  Mississippi.  Among  the  first  and 
most  respectable  settlers,  was  M.  Chotcau,  a  name  still  respectable  in  the 
country.     In  1770,  this  village  received  a  large  accession  of  inhabitanis 


m 


-.i*. 


MISSOURI. 


313 


from  the  opposite  shore  of  llio  Mississippi,  of  peoplo,  wlio  preferred  the 
regime  of  Spain  to  England.     Hunting,  trapping,  and  trading  with  the 
Indians,  was  the  great  business  of  tiic  country.    Spain  expended  great 
sums  of  money  in  the  country,  and  drew  little  or  nothing  from  it. — 
Those  who  chose  to  immigrate  tliere,  could  obtain  a  settlement  right  of 
640  acres  for  a  trifling  douceur  to  the  commandant,  and,  provided  tJiey 
yielded  a  decent  observance  to  the  existing  institutions  of  the  country, 
the  Spanish  yoke  sat  very  liglilly  on  their  shoulders.     There  were  few 
countries  in  which  tlio  people  lived  more  happily,  and  to  their  own  minds, 
than  this,  until  the  attack  from  Michilimackinack,  called  in  the  annals  of 
French  tradition,  Vanncc  du  coup.     After  that  attack,  St.  Louis  was  for- 
tified with  tliose  circular  stone  bastions,  tJKit  at  present  give  the  town 
such  a  picturesque  appearance  in  the  distance.       From  St.  Louis  the 
French  hive  swarmed  to  Carondclet,  St.  Ferdinand,  St.  Cliarles,  Mine  a 
Burton,  St.  Michael's,  Cote  sans  dcssein,  and  French  trading  and  hunting 
establishments  were  made  almost  to  the  bases  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
The  country  continued  gradually  to  settle,  until,  as  has  been  related,  it 
passed  under  the  American  government.  The  proudest  eulo^'rium  that  ever 
was  uttered  upon  that  government,  was  the  immediate  rise  in  the  value  of 
lands,  consequent  upon  this  transaction.     French  people,  who  were  in  the 
habit  of  complaining  of   this  transfer,  and  of  our  laws,  were  not  the 
less  willing  to  tidte  advantage  of  the  immediate  and  triple  value,  which 
their  lands  acquired.     The  settlement  rights,  which  had  been  acquired 
under  the  Spanish  regime  almost  for  asking,  became  at  once  a  competent 
fortune  to  their  owners.     Immigration  was  discouraged  by  the  sickly  sea- 
son of  1811,  commonly  called  the  'year  of  waters.'    Tho  late  war,  too, 
eflfectually  repressed  the  increase  of  the  country.    Many  settlements,  as 
that  of  Boone's  Lick,  and  Salt  River  were  broken  up.   The  French  seemed 
in  many  instances  rather  disposed  to  take  part  with  the  Indians.     But  in 
the  progress  of  the  war,  the  indiscriminate  savage  appetite  for  slaughter 
finally  impelled  the  savages  to  commit  murders  in  the  French  villages ;  and 
this  circumstance  induced  a  hearty  co-operation  with  the  other  population 
in  punishing  savage  aggressions.     There  had  been  a  great  number  of 
murders  committed  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  remote  and  unprotected 
settlements.      A  considerable  force,  denominated  'rangers,'  was  raised  in 
the  territory.      They  marched  promptly  into  the  Indian  country,  and 
conducted  gallantly ;  and  although  they  had  few  opportunities  of  distin- 
guishing themselves,  by  coming  in  actual  contact  with  tho  enemy,  this  ex- 
pedition had  a  great  eflect  in  aweing  and  repressing  the  savage  marfiuders 
on  the  frontiers. 

The  tide  of  immigration,  which  had  been  arrested  during  the  war,  set 
with  greater  strength  towards  this  country,  on  the  return  of  peace     The 

40 


m. 


3 


n\ 


Ait^ 


^^ 


a. 


I 


314 


MISSOURI. 


4^ 


'■  '4 


mass  of  immigrantri  vvaa  condtantly  uccumuluting,  until  the  year  1817, 
when  it  socms  to  have  reached  its  height.  An  hiin(h-cd  persons  have  hecti 
numbered  in  a  day  passing  through  St.  Charles,  cither  to  Boone's  Lick,  or 
Salt  River. 

Up  to  this  time  the  march  of  improvement  in  Missouri  was  mpid.  Tiie 
face  of  the  country  was  visibly  changing  under  the  eye.  St.  Louis  was 
built  up  with  houses,  which  would  not  have  disgraced  Philadelphia.  St. 
Charles,  and  the  villages  generally,  began  to  be  rc-built  of  brick.  Fine 
houses  arose  in  the  country.  Tread  mills  and  steam  mills  were  erected. 
Schools  were  established  j  and  important  manufactories  were  either  com- 
menced, or  in  prospect.  The  rage  for  speculation  in  lands  became  a 
mania,  which  affected  the  country.  The  militia  made  progress  in  organi- 
zation.   The  population  was  supposed  to  amount  to  00,000. 

A  sudden  change,  operating  re-action  with  more  or  less  force  throiiffji 
the  whole  United  States  was  visible  here  about  the  year  1817;  and  went 
on  increasing  four  or  five  years.  It  resulted  from  the  suilden  reduction 
of  prices  in  the  Atlantic  country;  the  pressure  of  the  times;  and  the 
sudden  failure  of  the  numerous  Banks  of  the  western  country. 

There  was,  probably,  no  part  of  the  United  States  more  severely  pressed 
than  Missouri  and  Illinois.  Improvements  of  every  sort  not  only  came  to 
a  dead  pause;  but  seemed  to  retrograde.  A  great  number  of  immigranla 
had  been  sick,  on  removing  to  this  new  climate.  Clothes,  and  those  gro- 
ceries, that  from  habitual  use,  had  become  necessaries,  could  not  be  pro- 
cured. Even  wealthy  people  felt  the  distress  of  the  times ;  for  there  was 
not  sufficient  money  to  keep  up  a  circulating  medium.  They  falsely  im- 
puted these  evils  of  circumstances  and  the  times  to  this  particular  section 
of  the  country.  Many  of  them  packed  up  their  moveables;  collected 
their  cattle;  left  their  farms  unsold;  and  leturned  to  the  countries  whence 
they  had  emigrated.  ,  .  • 

Others  deemed,  that  a  part  of  these  evils  resulted  from  their  being  in  a 
territorial  government.  It  appeared  by  the  census,  that  the  state  had 
more  inhabitants  than  were  required  by  the  Constitution,  to  form  a  state. 
Delegates  were  accordingly  chosen,  in  1819,  for  this  purpose.  The  great 
object  in  the  canvass,  that  preceded  the  election,  was  to  prevent  any  per- 
son from  being  returned,  who  was  adverse  to  its  becoming  a  slave-holding 
state.  The  slave  question  was  discussed  with  an  asperity,  that  might 
naturally  be  expected  to  result  from  the  character  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  in  the  question.  By  a  very  large 
majority,  the  allowance  to  hold  slaves  was  incorporated  in  the  provisions 
of  the  Constitution.  It  also  contained  an  article  interdicting  ministers  of 
the  gospel  from  being  eligible  to  any  office  in  the  state.  We  need  not 
repeat,  that  the  asperity  with  wliich  the  slave  question  was  discussed  was 


# 


MISSOURI. 


315 


?:  for  there  was 


■;' 


.; 


I 


Iransforrcd  to  ihe  national  legislature,  and  wag  canvassed  lliero  with  more 
biitcrnesH,  than  even  here.  But  the  provision  finally  prevailed,  and  tliis 
state  was  admitted,  in  1820,  into  the  Union,  with  the  privilege  of  holding 
slaves. 

■  No  political  event  of  a  striking  character  hag  since  occurred.  ThitJ 
state  continued  to  labor  under  its  pecuniary  embarrassments  for  some 
years.  But  a  sound  circulation  of  money  was  gradually  restored.  A 
duly  placed  upon  imported  lead  gave  activity  to  the  working  of  the  mines 
The  fur  trade  resumed  its  former  activity.  The  steam  boat  system  of 
freight  and  transport  had  a  bearing  peculiarly  favoiuble  upon  this  state, 
which  has  such  a  great  length  of  coast  washed  by  the  Mississippi,  and 
accessible  by  that  species  of  vessels  nt  all  seasons  of  the  yeai",  except 
when  the  Mississippi  is  impeded  by  ice.  Al)out  the  year  1824,  it  could 
be  discovered,  that  the  order  of  prosperity  was  advancing  anew.  The 
towns,  esix;cially  St.  Louis,  began  to  improve.  The  tide  of  immigration 
once  more  set  towards  Missouri.  It  has  every  prospect  of  becoming  a 
wealthy,  populous  and  powerful  state. 

The  legislature  has  recently  incorporated  the  Missouri  Insurance  Co. 
capital  100,000  dollars,  and  the  privilege  to  increase  it  to  400,000;  the  St. 
Louis  Marine  Rail  Way  Co.;  the  St.  Louis  Hospital:  and  the  St.  Louis 
Water  Works.  The  water  is  to  be  raised  by  steam  from  the  Mississippi 
and  distributed  over  the  city. 

In  other  parts  of  the  state,  there  is  the  Boone's  Lick  Manufacturing 
Company,  near  Fayette ;  and  the  Lexington  Steam  Saw  Mill  Company  in 
La  Fayette  county.  There  is  an  Iron  Foundry  establishment  on  a  re- 
spectable scale  in  St.  Louis;  and  one  or  two  large  establishments  at  Belle- 
vue,  in  the  mine  country,  that  smelt  their  own  iron  from  mines  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity.  The  legislature  has  passed  an  enactment  to  sell  all  the 
lands  appropriated  to  the  interests  of  education,  and  apply  the  fund 
thence  arising  to  the  same  purpose.  There  arc  twelve  colleges,  academies 
and  semmaries,  incorporated  by  law. 


V* 


/> 


.J* 


m 


#• 


%> 


1*... 


■-:,♦ 


ILLINOIS. 


Length,  350  miles.— Breadth  180.  Bctwocai  37"  and  42°  30'  N, 
latitude,  and  10°  20'  and  11°  21'  \V .  longitude,  ft  contains  50,000  square 
miles,  and  nearly  40,000,000  acres.  Bounded  on  the  nortli  by  tlie 
North-Western  Territory.  East  by  lake  Michigan,  Indiana,  and  the  river 
Wabash.  South  by  the  Ohio,  which  separates  it  from  Kentucky;  and 
west,  in  its  whole  extent,  by  the  Mississippi,  which  separates  it  from 
Missouri,  and  the  Missouri  Territory. 


Counties. 

County  Totvns. 

Distances  from  Vandalia. 

Adams, 

Quiijcy, 

193  miles. 

Alexander, 

America, 

181 

Bond, 

Greenville, 

20 

Calhoun, 

Gilead, 

126 

Clark, 

Clark  C.  II. 

134 

Clay, 

Maysville, 

46 

Clinton, 

Carlyle, 

30 

Cole, 

Cole  C.  H. 

Cook, 

Chicago, 

' 

Crawford, 

Palestine, 

118 

Edgar, 

Paris, 

■  .     *                  106 

Edwards, 

Albion, 

92 

Fayette, 

Vandalia, 

Franklin, 

Frankfort, 

102 

Fulton, 

Fulton, 

133 

Gallatin, 

Equality, 

137 

Greene, 

CarroUton, 

106 

Hamilton, 

'    McLeansbro', 

93 

k  I 


ILLINOIS. 


.117 


Hancock, 

Henry, 

Jackson, 

Jefferson, 

Jo  Daviess, 

Juhnson, 

Knox, 

La  Salic, 

Lawrence, 

McLean, 

Macon, 

Macoupin, 

Madison. 

Marion, 

McDonougli, 

Mercer, 

Monroe, 

Montgomery, 

Morgan, 

Peoria, 

Perry, 

Pike, 

Pope, 

Putnam, 

Randolph, 

St.  Clair, 

Sangamon, 

Schuyler, 

Shelby, 

Tazewell, 

Union, 

Vermillion, 

Wabash, 

Warner, 

Washington, 

Wayne, 


Rrownsvillc, 

Mount  Vernon, 

Galena, 

Vienna, 

Knox  C.  n. 

Ottowa, 

Lawrencevillc, 

Bloomington, 

Decatur, 

Carlinvillc, 

Edwardaville, 

Salem, 

Macomb, 

Waterloo, 

IIillsboro% 

Jacksonville, 

Peoria, 

Pinckneyville, 

Atlas, 

Golconda, 

Ilenepin,! 

Kaskaskia, 

Belleville, 

Springfield, 

Rushvillc, 

Shelbyville, 

Mackinaw, 

Joncsboro', 

Danville, 

Mount  Carmcl, 

Warren, 

Naslivillc, 

Fairfield, 


65 


.<!> 


■■iSi' 


84 

70 
05 
55 
20 


99 
28 
115 
43 
120 
148 
160 

50 
71 

70 
172 

40 
140 
154 
150 
109 


60 


White, 

Vandalia  is  781  miles  from  Washington,  75  from  St.  Louis,  288  from 
Nashville,  862  from  New  Orleans,  970  from  New  York,  and  320  from 
Cincinnati. 

The  census  of  1830  gives  the  population  of  Illinois  as  follows , — 
Whites,  155,170.    Slaves,  746.    Total,  157,575. 


'■•* 


#^ 


31N 


ILMNOIh. 


Face  of  the  rounlrtf.  Next  lo  TiOiiihiuiifi  :in<l  Dclnwurr,  lliia  Ih  ihc  njoal 
lovcl  state  in  llic  Union.  Alllmiifjh  noitli-wcsl  (pf  Sliiwiinctown  there  ih 
a  rnnfio  of  liills,  whirli  hduw  Ikivc  cliosrn  to  (lonoiniimtc!  mminhuna.— 
Tiierc  arc considcralilc  <'lcv!ili()iiHal«)iif,'  llic  Illinois;  and  the  l)lnllrt  of  the 
Missisaippi  in  some  places  ini;!;ht  ahnost  pass  for  nionulains.  In  iIk; 
niincml  regions,  in  the  north-west  angle  of  the  slalo,  there  nro  hij,'h  hills, 
Bnt  tlio  far  greater  |>roporlion  of  the  stale  is  either  distrilmtcd  in  vast 
plains,  or  in  barrens,  that  arc  j^cntly  rollin<j.  We  rnay  travel  on  the  wide 
prairies  for  days  withont  encountering  an  elevali(»n,  Miat  is  worthy  to  he 
called  a  liill.  In  no  part  of  the  peopled  divisions  of  ih(;  United  States  an; 
there  such  great  sections  of  prairie  country.  One  pi  liric,  with  very  little 
interruption,  spreads  from  the  shores  of  the  Mississippi  to  those  of  liike 
Michigan.  These  prairies,  more  distinctly  than  in  the  countries  west  of 
tJic  Mississippi  arc  divided  into  wet  and  dry,  alluvi  \l  and  rolling  prairies. 
The  wet  and  flat  prairies  seem  once  to  have  been  tinibcrcnl  inornssoa. 
They  contain  peat,  and  other  fossil  indicatiims,  logs,  and  the  bones  of 
animals  some  feet  below  the  soil,  that  probably,  when  the  trees  and  tin; 
animals  fell,  were  on  the  surface.  These  prairies  constitute  the  sources 
of  many  of  the  rivers.  The  alluvial  prairies  are  high  and  dry;  of  a  ridi 
black  loam,  and  an  exceedingly  fertile  soil;  and  covered  with  a  coarse 
grass  of  incredible  size  and  height.  The  high  and  rolling  prairies  are 
sometimes  chequered  with  groves  of  sparse  trees.  The  quality  of  their 
soil  seldom  exceeds  second  rate,  and  they  abound  with  springs.  Grape 
vines  are  abundant ;  and  they  furnish  an  inexhaustible  summer  range  for 
cattle. 

This  vast  extent  of  level  plains  is  an  injury.  There  is  often  not  suf 
ficient  inclination  to  carry  off  the  water  that  falls  in  rains.  Even  the  high 
prairies,  when  they  happen  to  be  of  a  stiff  soil,  arc  too  wet  for  cultivation. 
During  the  heats  of  summer  these  lands  discharge  their  waters  by  evap- 
oration rendered  still  more  noxious  by  the  vast  quantities  of  vegetation. 
which  have  been  steeping  in  them.  Hence  it  happens,  that  these  beauti- 
ful countries  to  the  eye,  where  every  thing  promises  health,  as  well  as 
abundance,  arc  sometimes  sickly. 

On  the  route  from  Cincinnati  to  St.  Louis,  the  great  road  passes  througli 
this  state,  in  its  whole  extent  of  width.  More  than  one  hundred  miles  of 
it  is  high,  dry,  and  rich  i)rairie.  In  all  this  distance  the  margins  of  the 
streams  are  almost  the  only  places  where  timbered  land  is  found;  and  the 
streams  have  only  narrow  skirts  of  wood.  The  largest  prairie  is  'Grand 
Prairie.'  The  first  stratum  of  soil  in  this  wide  extent  of  country,  is  a 
black,  friable,  and  sandy  loam,  from  two  to  five  feet  in  thickness.  The 
next  is  a  red  clay,  mixed  with  fine  sand,  and  liom  five  lo  ten  feet  in  thick 
ncss.     The  third  is  u  hard  blue  clay  of  a  beautiful  appearance,  and  a 


IM.INMI.<i. 


ail) 


)rainc  is 


m^nr'S  li'cliii^s  niixi'il  witli  |m-IiI)Iin,  ;miiI  wIh-ii  <'V|himc(I  Im  tli«;iiir,  ciiiiltin/;; 
n  fittiil  fiiicll.  In  <lii?*  >lr:itiim  the  water  of  llit;  wells  is  lltiuid;  which  is 
lUmmranMv,  if  not  uiihi>;iltliy.  'Die  soil  is  of  iIk;  fuHt  (|niility.  In  tho 
^astiM  of  flowerfl  the  eye,  mid  all  the  Honscs  receive  iIkj  lii;,'hcst  gmtifica- 
lion.  In  (he  time  of  slrawhcrricH,  thouHaiid.s  of  acres  are  roddrtied  with 
llie  lincst  <iii:ilily  of  tliisdi'liciuiM  fruit.  IJiit  this  country,  wliich  Htrikefl 
iL.  I'yi'  (l(-li;:litfully,  and  has  tniliions  of  acres  that  invite  tho  plough, 
wimtH  tiniher  for  iMiiidiii'.',  fcnciii;.',  and  fuel.  It  wants  good  water;  and 
in  too  many  instances  the  iniialiitants  want  lioalth.  Most  of  these  evils 
will  he  remedied  hy  the  expedients  of  cultivation.  Forests  may  soon  bo 
raised  upon  the  i»rairics.  Cod  and  jjoat  may  he  discovered  for  fuel. — 
Hedges ;inddil<'hes  m;iy  fence  it-  and  pure  water  may  be  found  by  carry- 
ing the  wells  below  the  stratum  of  earth,  that  is  supposed  to  impart  tho 
sidpbureous  and  disagreeable  taste  which  it  possesses. 

lielwcen  Carlitk'  and  St.  fiouis,  an  extent  of  50  miles,  we  meet  with 
woods,  streams,  hills,  lime-stoiio  ledges,  and  a  rolling  C(»imtry;  although 
wo  cross  an  occasional  prairie  <piite  to  tho  American  bottom.  On  tho 
north  of  this  road,  and  between  it  and  the  Illinois,  thesurlacc  is  generally 
more  irregular.  Considerable  of  the  country  may  bo  termed  broken. 
The  hills  alound  with  stone  coal.  A  range  of  hills  connnences  at  tho 
blnll's,  that  bound  the  American  bottom,  near  Kaskaski; ;  and  stretches 
nortli-eastwardly  Ibrongh  the  state,  towards  lake  Michigan.  A  noble 
limestone  biidl"  l)rcaksoir,  almost  at  right  angles  to  this  chain,  and  stretches 
along  the  margin  of  the  American  bottom  to  the  point  nearly  opposite 
the  MLssnuri.  This  bluft'has,  in  many  places,  a  regular  front  of  perpen- 
dicular lime  stone,  not  uidVecpiently  300  feet  high.  Another  lino  of 
river  blufls  commences  opj)osile  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  and  reaches 
the  mouth  of  llu;  Illinois.  Oppfjsito  Portage  dcs  Sioux,  these  bluffs  shoot 
up  info  delaclicd  points  and  piimaclcs,  which,  with  the  hoary  color  of  tho 
rocks,  have  at  a  distance,  the  appearance  of  the  ajicicnt  spires  and  towers 
of  a  town.  This  chain  of  blulls  marks  the  limits  of  the  alluvion  of  tho 
Illinois.  As  along  the  Mississippi,  the  face  of  this  grand  wall  of  nature 
is  frequently  perpendicular.  When  the  limits  of  the  alluvion  arc  marked 
on  one  side  by  this  wall,  on  the  opposite  side  they  arc  bounded  by  a  suc- 
cession of  singular  hills,  parallel  to  each  other,  called  by  the  French 
'mamellos.''  What  is  singular  is,  that  a  beautiful  prairie  is  seen  on  that 
side,  wliich  is  bounded  l>y  the  perpendicular  blufls;  and  a  thick,  tangled 
and  heavily  timbered  bottom  on  the  side  of  the  river,  that  is  marked  with 
these  mamellcs.  When  the  prairie  is  found  on  the  right  or  left  of  the 
river,  so  are  all  these  accompaniments;  and  they  regularly  alternate, 
being  found  first  on  one  side,  and  then  on  the  other. 

The  'American  bottom,'  commences  not  far  below  Kaskaskia,  and 
stretches  along  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mississippi  80  miles;  terminating 


b  ..I 


'm 


•3' 


320 


ILLINOIS. 


i 


a  little  distance  below  the  point,  which  is  opposite  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri.  It  is  from  three  to  six  miles  wide,  and  divided  into  two  belts. 
The  first,  bordering  the  Mississippi,  is  a  heavily  timbered  bottom.  The 
next  reaching  the  foot  of  the  perpendicular  bluffs,  is  prairie  of  the  richest 
quality,  covered,  in  the  season,  with  grass  and  flowers.  Parts  of  this 
tract  have  been  in  cultivation  with  the  exhausting  crop  of  maize  one 
hundred  years,  without  apparently  producing  the  slightest  exhaustion 
of  the  soil.  No  description  will  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the  power 
of  vegetation,  and  the  rank  luxuriance  with  which  it  operates  along  this 
plain  of  exhaustless  fertility.  Unhappily  here,  as  almost  universally, 
nature  has  compensated  the  prodigality  of  her  gifts  on  the  one  hand,  by 
counterbalancing  disadvantages  on  the  other.  Wherever  her  bounties  arc 
offered  with  little  labor,  and  in  such  abundance  as  here,  men  will  be  found. 
But  in  the  autumn  you  will  enter  few  houses  in  the  whole  distance,  where 
some  of  the  members  of  the  family  are  not  sick. 

A  bottom  similar  to  this,  alternately  on  the  right  and  left  bank  of  the 
Illinois,  marks  its  course  almost  from  its  mouth  to  its  source.  It  is  in  the 
same  manner  bounded  by  bluiTs.  The  same  line  of  hills  marks  a  belt 
beyond  its  bluffs.  In  short  this  configuration  of  the  country  designates 
the  outlines  of  all  the  rivers  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Each  of  the 
great  rivers  has  some  distinctive  signs  impressed  upon  its  bluffs  and  hills. 

The  military  bounty  lands  in  Illinois  arc  laid  off  in  the  delta  of  the 
Illinois  and  Mississippi.  Their  shape  is  that  of  a  curvilinear  triangle. 
More  than  five  million  acres  have  been  surveyed,  to  meet  the  appropria- 
tion of  three  millions  and  a  half  acres,  which  were  assigned  by  congress, 
as  a  bounty  for  soldiers.  These  lands  embrace  all  the  varieties  of  soil, 
found  in  any  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  There  are  rich  bottoms,  in- 
undated swamps,  grassy  prairies,  timbered  alluvions,  perpendicular  bluffs, 
*mamelle'  and  river  hills,  barrens,  and  all  qualities  of  soil  from  the  best  to 
the  worst.  Some  portions  may  be  affirmed  healthy ;  but  such  is  not  their 
general  character.  A  great  share  is  of  first  rate  quality,  as  regards  fertility. 
The  lower  portion  next  the  Mississippi,  where  the  two  rivers,  for  a  long 
distance,  are  near  each  other,  seldom  diverging  more  than  eight  miles,  is 
generally  of  extraordinary  fertility;  but  sometimes  inundated,  and  too 
oflen  unhealthy.  As  we  ascend  the  Illinois,  and  the  two  rivers  diverge, 
the  character  of  the  country  iMJComcs  more  diversified,  less  subject  to  in- 
undation, more  happily  sprinkled  with  hill,  dale,  copse,  and  prairie.  The 
north-eastern  division  of  this  tract  is  in  general  a  fine  country. 

It  would  lead  to  a  particularity  beyond  our  object,  to  go  into  a  detailed 
description  of  all  the  bodies  of  excellent  land  in  this  slate.  For  not  only 
here,  but  over  all  the  western  country,  the  lands  seem  to  be  distributed 
in  bodies,  either  of  rich  or  sterile,  level  or  broken  lands.  On  Rock  River, 
the  Illinois,  IhcKaskaskia,  Embarras.  between  the  Big  and  Little  Wabash, 


,fT 


jottoms,  in- 


3d,  and  too 


ILLINOIS. 


321 


(in  tlie  Parnssaw,  the  Macoupin,  tlic  Sanrramon,  and  on  all  the  considcr- 
ablo  streams  of  this  stato,  there  are  very  Inrno  bodies  of  first  rate  lands. 
Tlio  Grand  Prairie,  the  Mound  Prairie,  the  prairie  upon  which  the  Marino 
Settlement  is  fixed,  and  that  occupied  l)y  the  society  of  Cliristians  from 
New  England,  are  all  exceedingly  rich  tracts. 

The  Sangamon,  in  particular,  is  an  Arcadian  region,  in  which  nature 
has  delighted  to  bring  together  her  happiest  combinations  of  landscape. 
It  is  generally  a  level  country.    The  prairies  are  not  so  extensive,  as  lo 
be  incapable  of  settlement  from  want  of  timber.      The  Sangamon  itself 
is  a  fine  beatable  water  of  the  Illinois,  entering  it  on  the  south  side,  140 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois.     All  the  waters  that  enter  this 
beautiful  river,  have  sandy  and  pebbly  bottoms,  and  pure  and  transparent 
waters.    There  is  a  happy  proportion  of  timbered  and  prairie  lands.    The 
soil  is  of  great  fertility.     The  climate  is  not  very  diiTerent  from  that  of 
New  York,  and  the  latitude  about  the  same.     The  summer  range  for  cat- 
tle is  inexhaustible.     The  growth  of  forest  trees  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
rich  lands  in  the  western  country  in  general.     The  proportion  of  locust, 
black  walnut,  and  peccan  trees,  that  indicate  the  richest  soils,  is  great. 
Iron  and  copper  ore,  salt  springs,  gypsum,  and  stone  coal   are  abundant. 
All  who  have  visited  this  fine  tract  of   country,  admire  the  beauty  of  the 
landscape,  which  nature  has  here  painted  in  primeval  freshness.     So 
beautiful  a  tract  of  country  was  early  selected  by  immigrants  from  New 
England,  New  York,  and  North  Carolina.     More  than  200  families  had 
fixed  themselves  here,  before  it  was  surveyed.     It  now  constitutes  a  num- 
ber of  populous  counties,  and  is  thickly  settled  by  thriving  farmers.    The 
first  settlement  of  Greene  county,  one  of  the  most  populous,  was  in  1817; 
and  the  first  sale  of  lands  in    1821.     It  has  now  7,854  inhabitants,  and 
1,207  militia. 

A  body  of  lands,  perhaps  equally  extensive  and  fine  with  that  on  the 
Sangamon,  lies  along  the  course  of  the  Kaskaskia,  or  Okau.  This  river 
has  a  long  course  through  tlie  central  parts  of  the  state,  and  a  country 
happily  diversified  with  hill,  vale,  prairie,  and  forest.  The  streams  that 
fall  into  it,  have  sufficient  fall  to  be  favorable  for  the  site  of  mills.  The 
best  settled  parts  of  the  state  are  watered  by  this  river.  On  its  banks  is 
Kaskaskia,  formerly  the  seat  of  government, and  Vandalia,  at  present  the 
metropolis. 

Although  there  are  extensive  bodies  of  sterile  and  broken  lands  in 
(llinois,  yet  take  the  whole  of  its  wide  surface  together,  it  contains  a 
greater  proportion  of  first  rate  land,  than  any  state  in  the  Union ;  and 
probably  as  great  in  proportion  to  its  extent,  as  any  country  on  the  globe. 
One  of  the  inconveniences  appended  to  this  extent  of  rich  country,  is  too 
yroai  ;i  projhjrtion  of  prairicH,  with  which  two-thirds  of  the  surface  ai-e 

41 


H^ 


'■^- 


'»l 


'% 


iili! 


322 


ILLINOIS. 


covered.  But  the  prevalence  of  coal  and  peat,  and  the  ease  and  rapidity 
with  which  forest  trees  may  be  raised,  will  render  even  the  extensive 
prairies  habitable. 

Rivers.  It  is  only  necessary  to  look  on  the  map  of  this  state,  to  see 
what  astonishing  advantages  for  inland  navigation  nature  has  given  it. 
On  its  northern  extent,  it  has  for  a  great  distance  the  waters  of  lake 
Michigan,  and  the  boatable  streams  that  empty  into  it;  and  by  this  vast 
body  of  waters,  a  communication  is  opened  with  the  northern  fronts  of 
Indiana  and  Ohioj  with  New  York  and  Canac.a.  On  the  north-west 
frontier  it  has  Rock  River,  a  long,  beautiful  and  boatable  river  of  tlie 
Mississippi.  On  the  whole  western  front  it  is  washed  by  the  Mississippi; 
and  on  its  northern  by  the  Ohio.  On  the  east  it  is  bounded  by  the  Wa- 
bash. Through  its  centre,  winds,  in  one  direction,  the  Illinois,  connect- 
ing the  Mississippi  with  lake  Michigan  by  the  Plein  and  Kankakee,  a 
river,  excepting  a  short  distance  of  shoals,  almost  as  uniformly  boatable 
as  a  canal;  and  in  another  direction,  the  beautiful  Kaskaskia  winds 
through  the  state.  Besides  these,  there  are  great  numbers  of  boatable 
streams,  penetrating  the  state  in  every  direction.  Such  is  the  intersec- 
tion of  this  state  by  these  waters,  that  no  settlement  in  it  is  far  from  a 
point  of  boatable  communication,  either  with  lake  Michigan,  the  Missis- 
sippi, or  the  Ohio.  It  may  be  added,  that  when  the  state  shall  have  been 
inhabited  as  it  will  be,  as  no  country  affords  greater  facilities  for  making 
canals,  from  the  friability  of  the  soil,  its  levelness,  and  the  proximity  of 
the  sources  of  the  boatable  waters  to  each  other,  canals  will  complete  the 
chain  of  communications,  and  transport  will  be  almost  as  entirely  by 
water  in  Illinois,  as  it  now  is  in  Holland  or  China.  At  present  the  state 
is  supposed  to  have  4,000  miles  of  boatable  waters  in  her  limits. 

The  Illinois,  which  gives  name  to  the  state,  may  be  considered  the 
most  important  river,  whose  whole  course  is  in  it.  It  rises  in  the  north- 
eastern parts  of  the  state,  not  more  than  35  miles  from  the  south-western 
extremity  of  lake  Michigan,  and  interlocking  by  a  morass  with  the  river 
Chicago,  which  empties  into  that  lake.  Its  two  main  head  branches  are 
Plein  and  Kankakee.  Thirty  miles  from  the  junction  of  these  rivers, 
enters  Fox  River,  from  the  north.  Between  this  and  the  Vermillion, 
enter  two  or  three  inconsiderable  rivers.  The  Vermillion  is  a  considera- 
ble stream,  which  enters  the  Illinois  from  the  South,  260  miles  above  the 
Mississippi.  Not  far  below  this  river,  and  two  hundred  and  ten  miles  above 
the  Mississippi,  commences  Peoria  lake,  which  is  no  more  than  an  en- 
largement of  the  river,  two  miles  wide,  on  an  average,  and  twenty  miles 
in  length.  Such  is  the  depth  and  regularity  of  the  bottom,  that  it  has  no 
perceptible  current  whatever.  It  is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  with  ro- 
mantic shores,  generally  bounded  by  prairies;  and  no  waters  in  the  world 


nois,  connect- 


ILLINOIS. 


323 


furnish  finer  sport  for  the  angler.  M'Kee's  and  Red  Bud  enter  not  far 
from  this  point.  Crow-Meadow  River  almost  interlocks,  at  its  source, 
with  the  Vermillion  of  the  Wabash.  Two  or  three  inconsiderable  streams 
enter  the  river  from  the  north,  not  far  from  the  lower  extremity  of  Peoria 
lake.  Still  lower  down  enters  from  the  south  Michilimackinack,  a  very 
considerable  stream,  boatable  nearly  an  hundred  miles  from  the  river  into 
the  interior.  Below  this  enter  Spoon  and  Crocked  Rivers.  Still  lower 
down  on  the  same  side  enters  the  Sangamon  by  a  mouth  100  yards  wide; 
and  is  boatable  140  miles.  From  its  position,  and  the  excellence  of  its 
lands,  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  rivers  of  the  state.  Chariton,  Otter, 
Apple,  and  Macoupin  rivers  are  all  considerable  streams,  that  water  fine 
tracts  of  country. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Illinois,  the  rivers  that  enter  on  that  shore, 
Jiave  their  courses,  for  the  most  part,  in  mountainous  bluffs,  which  often 
approach  near  the  river.  For  a  great  distance  above  its  mouth,  the  river 
is  almost  as  straight  as  a  canal ;  has  in  summer  scarcely  a  perceptible 
current,  and  the  waters,  though  transparent,  have  a  marshy  taste  to  a.  de- 
gree to  be  almost  unpotable.  The  river  is  wide  and  deep;  and  for  the 
greater  part  of  its  width,  is  filled  with  aquatic  weeds,  to  such  a  degree, 
tliat  no  person  could  swim  among  them.  Only  a  few  yards  width,  in  the 
centre  of  the  stream,  is  free  from  them.  It  enters  the  Mississippi,  through 
a  deep  forest,  by  a  mouth  400  yards  wide.  Perhaps  no  river  of  the 
western  country  has  so  fine  a  boatable  navigation,  for  such  a  great  dis- 
tance, or  waters  a  richer  and  more  luxuriant  tract  of  country.  On  the 
banks  of  this  river  the  first  French  immigrants  from  Canada  fixed  them- 
selves ;  and  hpre  was  the  scenery  on  which  they  founded  their  extravagant 
paintings  of  the  western  country.  By  a  moderate  amount  of  labor  and 
expense,  this  river  might  be  united  with  the  Chicago  of  lake  Michigan. 
Appropriations  have  already  been  made  by  the  state  for  the  canal,  that  is 
intended  to  eifectuate  this  purpose.  We  have  already  remarked,  that  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year,  boats  of  five  tons  burden  already  pass  through 
the  morass,  from  one  extremity  of  which  the  waters  are  discharged  into 
the  Chicago  of  lake  Michigan ;  and  from  the  other  into  the  Plein  of  the 
Illinois;  thus  furnishing  a  natural  communication  between  two  rivers, 
whose  outlets  are  so  wide  and  opposite  from  each  other.  Indeed,  by  the 
most  obvious  appearances,  along  the  Illinois  and  some  of  its  waters;  as 
the  Plein  for  example,  it  is  manifest,  that  lake  Michigan  once  discharged 
at  least  a  part  of  its  surplus  waters  into  the  Mississippi.  This,  too,  may 
explain  the  obvious  appearance  in  that  lake,  of  being  now  many  feet  lower 
than  once  it  was.  This  fact  is  palpably  marked  every  where  along  the 
rocky  shores  of  the  lake. 


«** 


324 


ILUNOIS. 


!  »  . 


S^' 


Ruck  River  is  one  of  the  most  clear  uikI  Ijcautirul  Iribiitarics  <ji'  ilie 
Mississippi.  It  has  its  source  beyond  the  northern  limils  of  the  state,  in 
a  ridge  of  hills,  that  sejjarates  between  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and 
lake  Michigan.  On  its  waters  are  extensive  und  rich  lead  mines,  lis 
general  course  is  south-west,  and  it  enters  the  Mississippi  not  far  above 
the  commencement  of  the  military  Iwunty  lands.  .  Opposite  the  mouth  of 
this  river,  in  the  Mississippi,  is  the  beautiful  island,  called  from  the  name 
of  the  river,  on  which  is  a  military  station  of  the  United  States,  presenting 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  prospects  on  the  whole  range  of  the  Mississippi. 

Kaskaskia  River  rises  in  the  interior  of  the  state,  nearly  interlocking 
with  the  waters  of  lake  Michigan.  It  has  a  course,  in  a  south-west 
direction,  of  between  2  and  3()0  miles,  greater  part  of  which  is,  in  high 
stages  of  water,  beatable.  It  runs  tlirough  a  fine  an(^  settled  country,  and 
empties  into  the  Mississippi  a  few  miles  below  the  town  of  the  same  name. 
In  its  long  course  it  interlocks  with  the  waters  of  Sangamon,  St.  Mary, 
Big  Muddy,  Little  and  Great  Wabash.  It  receives  a  great  number  ol 
tributaries,  among  which  the  most  considerable  are  Crooked,  Horse, 
Prairie,  Long,  Silver,  Sugar,  and  Shoal  creeks.  Its  lower  course  is  known 
to  the  French  people  by  the  name  of  Okau. 

Little  Wabash  rises  40  miles  south-east  of  the  Kaskaskia;  and  runs  in 
a  southerly  direction  130  miles,  emptying  into  the  main  Wabash,  a  few 
miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Ohio.  It  is  80  yards  wide  at  its  mouth, 
and  susceptible  of  a  long  navigation,  when  the  timber  shall  have  been 
removed  from  its  bed,  and  some  of  its  sand  bars  dug  down.  An  appro- 
priation has  been  made  by  the  legislature  for  this  purpose.  It  waters  a 
rich  country,  abounding  in  small  streams.  Fox  River  is  no  more  than  a 
bayou  of  the  Wabash.  Embarras,  Macontin,  St.  Germain,  Tortue, 
Brouette,  Dachette,  Erablier,  Rejoicing,  and  Tippicanoe  are  all  consider- 
able streams  of  this  state,  which  enter  into  the  Wabash.  Most  of  them 
have  their  sources  in  low  prairies,  or  marshy  lakes.  They  abound  in  fish 
and  water  fowl.  Tippicanoe  receives  its  name  from  a  kind  'of  pike,  called 
Piccanau;  by  the  savages,  which  abounds  in  this  river.  It  is  famous  for 
the  bloody  battle  fought  on  its  banks,  between  our  troops  under  General 
Harrison,  and  the  savages,  at  the  commencement  of  the  late  war.  As  the 
Wabash  belongs,  in  a  great  nxeasure,  to  Indiana,  we  shall  reserve  a  further 
description  of  it  for  that  state.  Henderson  is  a  considerable  river  entering 
the  Mississippi  240  miles  above  St.  Louis. 

Parassaw  enters  the  Mississippi  between  Portage  des  Sioux  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Illinois.  It  has  been  but  recently  inhabited.  It  runs  through 
a  fine  tract  of  land.  A  considerable  body  of  Irish  Catliolics  have  fixed 
themselves  on  this  creek.    It  has  a  course  of  nearly  fifty  miles.    Some 


* 


ILLINOIS. 

Iiltic  distance  from  the  mouth  of  ihc  Missouri,  caters  into  the  Mississip|)i, 
VVixxl  Creek,  which  has  a  course  of  30  or  40  miles;  and  has  a  numlxjr  of 
mills  erected  on  il.  Cahokia  Creek  has  a  considerable  len^tli  of  course 
in  the  American  bottom ;  and  enters  the  Missisippi  not  far  below  St.  Louis. 
Bi"  Muddy,  called  by  the  French  A  vase,  or  Au  Vuu,  enters  the  Mississippi 
32  miles  below  tlic  mouth  of  Kaskaskia.  It  is  a  deej),  slow  stream,  car- 
rying a  great  body  of  water  considering  its  width,  which  is  not  more  than 
70  yards.  It  is  beatable  150  miles.  It  flows  through  a  low  and  level 
country,  and  some  parts  of  its  alluvion  arc  subject  to  inundation.  Near 
its  banks  arc  found  immense  banks  of  stone  coal.  St.  Mary's  is  an  incon- 
.sidcrablc  stream  that  empties  into  the  Mississippi  a  league  and  a  lialf 
below  the  Kaskaskia. 

The  following  rivers  of  this  state  empty  into  the  Ohio.  The  Saline 
unites  its  waters  with  that  river,  30  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Wa- 
bash. It  is  navigable  to  the  United  States  Saline,  back  of  Shawneetown, 
20  miles  from  its  moutli.  Grand  Pierre,  Lush  Creek,  and  Big  Buy  are 
inconsiderable  streams,  that  are  useful  as  furnishing  sites  for  mills.  Cash 
is  a  considerable  stream,  beatable  50  miles,  and  is  50  yards  wide  at  its 
mouth.    It  enters  the  Ohio  five  miles  above  its  mouth. 

Minerals.  In  the  north-west  angle  of  this  state,  and  in  the  adjacent 
territories  are  found  the  richest  veins  of  lead  ore,  probably,  in  the  world. 
The  mine  country,  like  that  in  Missouri,  is  found  to  be  more  extensive,  in 
proportion  as  more  researches  are  made.  S{)ecimens  of  native  malleable 
copper  are  shown,  weighing  from  one  to  three  pounds.  They  were  found 
in  a  hilly  region,  at  a  considerable  distance  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  and 
the  finder  represented  the  region  where  they  were  found,  as  having  the 
marks  of  volcanic  explosion  about  it.  Gypsum  and  mineral  coal  are 
abundant  in  this  state;  as  are  also  Salines;  though  we  know  of  but  one 
place  in  the  state  where  salt  is  extensively  made.  Immense  quantities  of 
this  necessary  article  are  manufactured  at  the  Saline  back  of  Shawneetown, 
Climate.  This  state,  in  general,  has  the  same  climate  with  Missouri, 
being  much  more  nearly  assimilated  in  this  respect  to  that  state,  than  to 
Indiana,  or  Ohio.  But  being  something  lower  and  more  level,  than  the 
Missouri  country,  and  more  subject  to  inundation,  it  is  probably,  more 
humid ;  and  at  its  north-eastern  extremity,  where  it  feels  the  bleak  and 
desolating  gale  of  the  lakes,  it  is  more  cold,  and  lias  a  more  uncomfortable 
air  in  the  winter.  It  embraces  between  five  and  six  degrees  of  latitude. 
The  southern  parts  will  bring  cotton,  in  favorable  years,  for  domestic  use. 
While  the  climate  of  the  northern  parts  is  not  nmch  unlike  that  of  New 
York  and  Albany.  The  productions  are  tlie  same,  as  those  of  the  adjoin- 
ing state  of  Missouri. 


■V*' 


mm 


320 


ILLINOIS. 


AgricvHure  and  ManvfactvrcK.  This  stale,  having  a  vast  extent  fiftho 
most  fertile  soil,  must  of  course  raise  with  the  greatest  case,  all  the 
tirtieles  to  which  her  soil  and  climate  are  favorable,  in  an  amount  far  be- 
yond her  consumption.  By  her  long  line  of  coast  on  the  Mississipj)i, 
which  is  never  hindered  from  being  navigable,  by  the  lowness  of  the  waters, 
she  has  facilities  for  conveying  her  articles  to  market,  which  the  states 
situated  on  the  Ohio  have  not.  From  her  immense  prairies,  and  bound- 
less summer  range  for  cattle,  she  has  advantages  for  raising  cattle  and 
horses,  over  the  other  western  states.  Her  prairies  yield  a  variety  of  good 
fodder.  In  the  eastern  districts  in  the  vicinity  of  French,  Indian,  or 
American  habitancy,  wherever  the  natural  prairie  grass  is  'killed  out,'  as 
the  phrase  is,  a  fine  species  of  spear  grass,  called  blue  grass,  naturally 
takes  place  of  it.  The  eastern  parts  of  this  state  more  easily  clothe 
themselves  with  a  fine  and  verdant  turf,  than  the  more  sandy  soils  of  Mis- 
souri. These  circumstances  indicate  this  to  be  naturally  a  grazing  state. 
It  already  sends  great  numbers  of  fine  cattle  and  horses  to  New  Orleans, 
Most  of  the  clothing  of  the  people  is  manufactured  in  the  domestic  way. 
The  coarser  kinds  of  manufactures  are  found  at  home.  The  number  of 
artizans,  by  the  census  of  1820,  exceeded  a  tliousand. 

Chief  Touma.  Vandalia  has  been  selected  as  the  political  metropolis  of 
this  state.  It  is  pleasantly  situated  on  a  high  bank  of  tlie  Kaskaskia  river, 
in  the  centre  of  a  rich  and  thriving  country.  It  was  founded  but  a  few 
years  since.  But  respectable  houses  for  the  accommodation  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  the  courts  have  already  been  erected.  Many  handsome  brick 
buildings  have  arisen.  A  weekly  gazette  is  issued,  and  it  exhibits  the 
aspect  of  a  respectable  village,  having  from  80  to  100  houses. 

Edwardsville,  on  Cahokia  Creek,  20  miles  north-east  from  St.  Louis, 
is  a  county  town,  and  a  village  of  considerable  consequence.  Until 
within  a  few  years,  it  was  the  seat  of  government,  which  had  been  trans- 
ferred from  Kaskaskia  to  that  place. 

Belleville  is  in  the  centre  of  Turkey  Hill  Settlement,  18  miles  south 
east  of  St.  Louis,  and  a  few  miles  east  of  the  American  Bottom.  It  is  a 
flourishing  village  in  the  midst  of  a  compact  settlement  and  most  excel- 
lent lands. 

Alton  is  a  new  village,  a  little  above  tie  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  In 
four  years  from  its  commencement  it  contoined  100  houses,  and  a  respec- 
table boarding  school.  Many  of  the  people  were  immigrants  from  New 
York.  From  the  favorableness  of  its  position,  and  from  the  apparent 
healthiness  of  its  situatioUj  it  bids  fair  to  become  a  town  of  consequence. 

CarroUton,  the  county  town  of  Greene  county,  lias  a  street  of  sub- 
stantial brick  houses,  and  000  inhabitants. 


ILLINOIS!. 


387 


Carlisle  is  situntcd  on  the  west  bank  of  llin  Knskaskia,  on  tlie  great 
rpadf'rom  Cincinnati  to  St.  Louis.  The  road  from  Shawnectown  to  St. 
Louis,  also  passes  throngh  this  place.  Boats  of  burthen,  in  good  stages 
of  water,  can  ascend  the  river  to  this  place.  There  are  few  positions  in 
the  state,  more  central  to  the  resources  of  the  country. 

Cahokia,  on  the  creek  of  tliat  name,  is  situated  in  the  American  bottom, 
a  few  miles  below  St.  Louis.  It  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  villages  in 
the  country.  Its  inhabitants  arc  chiefly  French;  and  it  is  a  village  of 
considerable  extent. 

Prairie  du  Rocher,  12  miles  above  Kaskaskia,  is  a  French  village  in  the 
American  Bottom,  situated  near  a  most  beautiful  lime-stone  bluff.  It  is 
nearly  the  size  of  the  former  village. 

Kaskaskia  is  situated  on  an  extensive  plain,  not  far  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  American  Bottom,  11  miles  from  the  moutli  of  the  river,  on 
which  it  stands,  and  six  miles  from  the  nearest  point  of  the  Mississippi. 
This  town  was  one  of  the  first  establishments  made  by  the  French  in  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  is  a  place,  whose  origin  dates  farther  back 
than  Philadelphia.  It  once  was  a  place  of  great  importance,  containing 
7,000  inhabitants.  At  present  it  numbers  160  houses  and  1,000  inhabit- 
ants. A  more  beautiful  situation  for  a  town  can  hardly  be  imagined. 
It  is  in  the  centre  of  gently  sloping  basin,  on  a  line  navigable  stream,  and 
in  the  midst  of  a  country  proverbial  for  its  fertility.  It  is  tlie  seat  of 
justice  for  its  county — has  a  bank,  a  printing  office-  a  Catholic  church, 
and  a  Land  Office. 

Albion  is  situated  near  Ban  Pas  Creek,  and  is  the  centre  of  what  is 
called  'the  Marine  Settlement,'  formed  by  Mr.  Birkbeck,  Flower,  and 
other  English  immigrants.  There  are  many  wealthy  farmers  in  this 
vicinity,  that  were  once  mariners. 

Galena  was  first  settled  in  1826.  It  was  originated  by  the  extensive 
and  rich  lead  mines  in  its  vicinity,  and  was  an  outpost  of  between  3  and 
400  miles  advance  into  the  wilderness,  north-west  of  St.  Louis.  The 
population  now  amounts  to  near  1,000  inhabitants.  There  are  42  stores 
and  warehouses,  with  an  injurious  excess  of  groceries,  and  about  250 
dwelling  houses.  There  is  a  weekly  journal,  and  the  usual  concomitants 
of  a  county  seat.  Fifty  steam  boat  arrivals  are  the  annual  average  for  the 
two  past  years;  and  about  ten  million  pounds  of  lead  are  annually  ex- 
ported from  this  place.  The  population  in  the  vicinity  is  estimated  at 
10,000.  It  is  300  miles  north  north-west  from  Vandalia,  and  about  350 
from  St.  Louis. 

Shawneetown  is  situated  on  the  Oliio,  9  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Wabash.     The  great  United  States  Saline,  situated  12  miles  back  of  this 


r< « 


.-^- 


.iSt' 


:\ 


:J28 


ILLINOIS. 


fown,  cnntribmos  to  pivo  it  ronseqnonrn.  It  is  the  sent  of  jnslico  for  iis 
coiinly,  lias  .1  Bank  with  a  larcfo  rnpital,  and  a  Tiantl  Ofllcc  Galconclfi  nnd 
America  nrn  inconsidonhlo  villngos  on  tlio  Ohio.  America,  from  ih 
|>osition,  it  should  seem,  nmst  become  one  day  of  consequence.  It  in  n 
point  to  which  large  steam  boats  can  ascend  from  below,  to  wait  for  the 
smaller  boats,  that  ascend  the  Ohio  in  low  stages  of  the  water.  Oxford, 
Carmi,  Palmyra  and  Palestine  are  commencing  villages  on  different  waters 
of  the  Wabash. 

Diseases,  6fc.  The  climate  is  so  nearly  the  same  with  that  of  Missouri, 
which  we  have  already  described  with  some  particularity,  that  we  need 
add  but  little  in  this  place.  It  is  generally  lower,  more  extensively 
watered,  and  something  more  humid  than  its  sister  state,  opposite  the 
Mississippi.  Its  diseases  arc  similar,  though  we  think  it  more  subject  to 
intermittent  and  remittent  fevers. 

In  this  state,  as  well  as  that,  in  the  extensive  and  rich  bottoms,  the  cows 
are  subject  to  a  terrible  and  inexplicable,  or  at  least  as  yet,  unexplained 
ilisease,  called  rrdlk  sickness.  It  occurs  most  frequently  in  autumn,  and 
alwut  that  period  of  autumn,  when  the  first  severe  frosts  happen.  From 
this  circumstance,  and  the  fact  that  the  cattle  arc  then  driven  by  necessity 
to  pasture  upon  the  succulent  vines  and  herbage  of  the  forest,  that  remain 
unhurt  by  the  frost,  it  is  generally  supposed  to  be  occasioned  by  the  catinrr 
of  some  poisonous  vegetable.  The  animal  affected  with  it  becomes  ap- 
parently weary  and  faint,  and  can  travel  but  a  little  distance  without  fall- 
ing. It  seems  languid  and  stupid,  and  so  continues  to  droop  until  it  dies 
At  this  time,  and  under  the  influence  of  this  sickness,  the  milk  of  the  cows 
taken  in  any  quantity,  seems  to  produce  the  same  disease  in  men,  or  what 
ever  animals  swallow  it.  The  persons  are  subject  to  extreme  nausea, 
faintness,  vertigo,  recklessness  and  death.  There  are,  probably,  many 
supposed  cases  of  this  disease,  that  have  an  entirely  different  origin. — 
Some  have  tiuestioned  if  it  be  not  altogether  a  fabulous  disease.  We 
have  no  doubt  upon  the  subject.  We  have  conversed  with  so  many  who 
have  had  it,  and  have  recovered,  .and  have  heard  of  so  many  deaths,  thai 
were  well  attested  to  have  arisen  from  this  cause,  that  we  have  no  more 
doubt  of  its  having  affected  men,  than  animals.  It  has  been  a  subject  of 
earnest  local  disputation  among  farmers  and  physicians  where  it  occurs, 
and  has  recently  been  discovered  to  be  occasioned  by  a  luxuriant  poison 
vine,  which  grows  four  feet  in  height,  and  is  abundant  in  the  richest 
bottoms. 

Roads,  Public  ImpnYnements,  Seminaries,  6^c.  Beside  the  higher 
schools,  called  Academics,  which  have  been  commenced  in  different  [mrls 
of  the  stale,  Rock   S})riiig  Theological  School  iy  a  respectable  Baptist 


ILLINOIS. 


m) 


endowment  in  the  Turkey  Hills  Scltlcment,  17  miles  cast  of  St.  Louis, 
and  on  the  ffreat  road  from  that  place  to  Vincenncg.  It  is  intended  to 
contain  a  High  School,  an  Academy  nnd  Theological  Department.  The 
expenses  of  a  student  are  not  over  50  dollars  a  year.  It  has  50  students. 
Illinois  College  situated  at  Jacksonville,  was  founded  in  1829,  and  has 
a  fund  of  13,000  dollars.    It  has  from  twenty  to  thirty  students. 

The  soli  in  this  state,  as  we  have  remarked  of  Missouri,  in  general  is 
favorable  to  roads.     The  low  and  clayey  prairies  are  exceptions.    But 
there  are  vast  extents  of  country  where  nature  has  furnished  as  good 
roads  as  could  be  desired.     Some  of   the  ferries  are  difficult  to  cross  in 
rainy  periods,  from  the  the  muddiness  of  the_^approaches  to  them.    There 
are  considerable  portions  of  the  country  where  the  roads  are  very  deep 
and  heavy  in  the  winter.     The  rivers  furnish  most  of  the  communica- 
tions for  transport.    In  no  part  of  the  United  States  would  it  be  easier  to 
make  canals  for  the  rest.    One  between  the  Chicago  and  Des  Plaines,  as 
we  have  seen,  has  been  contemplated.     The  general  government  has 
appiopriated   100,000  acres  of  land  to  aid  the  project.     At  this  time, 
when  canals  are  so  generally  in  contemplation,  other  routes  for  canals 
have  been  surveyed.     The  same  provisions  for  schools  have  been  made 
here,  as  in  the  other  western  states.    In  addition  to  a  thirty-sixth  of  the 
whole  of  public  lands,  three  per  cent,  on  all  the  sales  of  public  lands  are 
added  to  the  school  fund.     It  is  contemplated  to  establish  an  University. 
One- sixth  part  of  the  school  funds,  and  two  entire  townships  have  been 
appropriated  for  this  purpose.     There  is,  in  many  places,  a  great  need  of 
primary  schools ;  though  the  people  display  a  growing  sense  of  the  vital 
importance  of  education  to  the  well  being  of  the  state.    In  the  more  pop- 
ulous and  opulent  villages,  schools  are  on  the  same  footing,  as  in  the  other 
places  similarly  situated,  in  the  United  States. 

Constitution  and  Laws.  The  constitution  of  this  state  was  adopted  in 
1818.  The  representatives  and  senators  are  chosen  biennially ;  the  gov- 
ernor and  lieutenant  governor  for  four  years.  The  judiciary  is  vested  in 
a  supreme  court,  and  such  other  subordinate  courts  as  the  legislature  may 
see  fit  to  establish.  The  supreme  court  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and 
three  associate  justices,  who  hold  their  offices  for  a  given  time.  All  free 
white  males,  who  have  resided  six  months  in  the  state,  are  qualified  to 
vote,  and  they  give  in  their  votes  at  elections  viva  voce. 

History.  The  early  history  of  this  country  has  necessarily  been  an- 
ticipated in  the  general  history  of  Louisiana.  Here  were  the  first  French 
establishments  which  were  made  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  Some 
of  the  French  villages  date  back  considerably  beyond  an  hundred  years. 
This  colony  was  known  for  a  long  period  in  the  French  history  by  the 
name  of  the  lUinoiij.    They  often  furnished  aid  from  this  colony  to 

42 


m 


T-p' 


330 


ir.LTNOIS 


LoiiiHinna  in  hor  wars  willi  ffio  Spanish  nnd  Frulians.  'Dicro  was  a  tirno 
wfi<!n  tlio  Illinois  colony  fiiniislicd,  chiclly  from  tlio  country  aliout  Kns- 
knskia,  great  qnanlilics  of  llonr  and  jirovisions  to  tlio  colony  of  Louisiaim, 
During  the  rovoltitionriry  war  these  French  colonies  were  quiet  for  the 
greater  part  of  tlie  time.  We  have  already  related  the  fate  of  the  expe- 
dition from  Michilimackinack  ayaiiist  St.  Jiouis.  In  the  suhseqqent 
Indian  wars,  tiiis  region  was  the  theatre  of  many  a  gallant  exploit  of  our 
partizan  waniors.  Wc  have  already  mentioned  tho  brilliant  action  of 
Gen.  Clark,  in  capturing  a  British  general,  and  detachment  at  Vinceiines. 
This  country  sufTiM'cd  much  from  the  savages  during  the  late  war.  Ilavinnr 
on  immense  extent  of  frontier,  contiguous  to  tho  lakes  and  to  savage 
tribes,  that  were  under  British  influence,  and  steadily  liostile  to  us;  this 
was  to  be  naturally  expected.  We  have  already  narrated  the  bloody 
tragedy,  that  ensued  upon  tho  evacuation  of  Fort  Chicago.  Many 
frontier  settlements  were  broken  up,  and  many  individual  murders  were 
committed  by  the  Indians.  It  would  only  be  a  repetition  of  those  horrible 
narratives,  that  belong  to  every  frontier  country,  similarly  situated,  when 
assailed  by  the  savages,  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  them.  The  principal 
theatre  of  the  operations  of  the  rangers  was  in  this  state.  Those  opera- 
tions had  a  great  effect  to  repress  the  incursions  of  the  savages.  A  great 
alarm  excited  by  the  savages  near  Rock  River,  has  recently  been  dispelled 
by  marching  a  considerable  body  of  troops  there. 

A  considerable  number  of  Sacs  and  Foxes  still  inhabit  the  banks  of 
Rock  River,  or  its  waters.  The  Kaskaskia,  Cahokias,  Peorias,  Pianka- 
shaws,  Mascontins,  Delawares,  and  Shawnese,  are  chiefly  extinct  tribes, 
or  have  emigrated  from  this  region.  Chippeways  and  Pottawattomies 
are  still  seen  in  the  limits  of  this  state,  uls  occasional  hunters  or  vagrants 
among  the  people.  But  by  different  treaties  the  Indians  have  ceded  the 
greater  part  of  their  territorial  claims  to  lands.  The  country  has  expe- 
rienced, until  recently,  almost  entire  freedom  from  their  depredations 
since  the  war;  and  has  rapidly  advanced  in  population  and  improvement. 
For  a  series  of  years,  in  every  autumn,  long  lines  of  teams  might  be  seen 
moving  towards  Sangnmon  ov  Maiivaise  tcrre,  the  grand  points  of  attrac- 
tion to  immigrants.  Nearly  the  same  order  of  events  occurred  here,  as 
in  Missouri,  in  relation  to  the  pecuniary  embarrassments  of  the  people, 
after  the  war.  The  same  expedients  of  ^relief  lines,''  and  loan  office 
•  banking  paper  were  adopted,  with  precisely  the  same  results.  The  history 
of  events  in  Missouri  will  answer  for  that  of  Illinois,  with  very  little 
variation.  Illinois  has  adopted  a  constitution,  which  does  not  admit  in- 
voluntary servitude,  or  the  tenure  by  which  masters  hold  slaves.  Some 
unsuccessful  efforts  were  made  by  the  immigrants  from  the  slave  holding 
states,  to  have  their  constitution  amended,  to  admit  of  slavery.    Tiie 


'^ 


ILLINOIH. 


331 


question  wiiH  cnsmilly  n/^itatod  in  fho  paixMs,  nnd  a  convention  for  the 
|)ur|K)Sc  was  proposocl.  liut  llic  niudoiuliou  and  ;r«)(jd  sense  of  the  ])eoi)lu 
allowed  tliig  irritating,'  investi^^Mlion  to  sleep  nndisturbed.  This  ^/reut 
state,  witjj  nnoccupicd  and  fertile  soil,  to  support  millions  of  agricultural 
people  in  atlluencc,  must  ullinuitely  become  populous  and  powerful. 

Curiosities.     Rock  Fort  is  a  i)r(jjcction  from  the  left  bank  of  tlie  river 
Illinois.    Its  base  i^  washed  on  three  sides  by  the  Illinois,  which  here  flows 
rapidly  over  a  rocky  bed.     Broken  m;isses  of  rock  arc  seen  above  tho 
surface  of  the  water.     The  judgment  of  the  beholder  would  give  the 
height  of  this  clill"  at  2J50  feet.     The  actual  measurement  might,  however 
fall  short  of  this.     Its  perpendicular  sides,  arising  from  the  river,  aro 
inaccessible.    It  is  connected  with  a  chain  of  hills,  that  extend  up  the 
Illinois  by  a  narrow  ledge,  the  only  ascent  to  which  is  by  a  winding  and 
precipitous  path.      This  rock  has  on  its  top  a  level  surface,  three-fourths 
of  an  acre  in  extent;  and  covered  by  a  soil  several  feet  in  depth,  which 
has  thrown  up  a  growth  of  young  trees.     These   form,  as  they  receive 
their  peculiar  tints  from  the  seasons,  a  verdant,  or  gorgeous,  and  parti- 
coloi-edcrown,  for  this  battlement  of  nature's  creation.    The  advantages, 
which  it  affords,  as  an  impregnable  retreat,  induced  a  band  of  Illinois 
Indians,  who  sought  a  refuge  from  the  fury  of  the  Pottawattomies,  with 
whom  they  were  at  war,  to  intrench  themselves  here.    They  repulsed  all 
the  assaults  of  their  beseigers,  and  would  have  remained  masters  of  their 
high  tower,  but  for  the  impossibility  of  longer  obtaining  supplies  of  water. 
They  had  been  used  to  attaching  vessels  to  ropes  of  bark,  and  dropping 
them  into  the  river  from  an  overhanging  point.    Their  enemies  stationed 
themselves  in  canoes  at  the  base  of  the  cliiT,  and  cut  off  the  ropes  as  fast 
as  they  were  let  down.     Tho  consequence  of  this  was  a  surrender,  and  the 
entire  extirpation  of  the  band.     An  intrenchment  corresponding  to  the 
edge  of  the  precipice,  is  distinctly  visible,  and  fragments  of  antique  pot- 
tery, and  other  curious  remains  of  tlie  vanished  race,  are  strewn  around. 
From  this  elevated  point,  the  Illinois  may  be  traced  as  it  winds  through 
deep  and  solitary  forests,  or  outspread  plains,  onward  to  the  Mississippi, 
until  it  disappears  from  the  vision  in  the  distance.     In  the  opposite 
direction,  a  prairie  stretches  out,  and  blends  with  the  horizon.    At  the 
foot  of  Rock  Fort,  on  the  land  side,  the  eye  reposes  on  a  verdant  carpet, 
enamelled  with  flowers  of  surpassing  beauty.     To  relieve  the  uniformity, 
from  which  even  this  beautiful  view  would  sufler,  the  forest  boundary  of 
the  opposite  side  of  the  prairie,  presents  its  gracefully  curved  line,  and 
offers,  from  the  noble  size  of  the  trees,  and  the  thickness  and  depth  of 
verdure  of  their  foliage,  'that  boundless  contiguity  of  shade,'  sought  after 
by  the  poet. 


'* 


<il  1 


*  >] 


332 


IIJilNOIS. 


m 


*Thc  Cttvo  in  Rock,'  or  'House  of  Nature,'  Iwlow  Shawm  otown,  jh 
pointed  out  (o  pa8son|rerH  on  the  Ohio,  as  a  jpfrciit  curiosity;  nnik  its  front 
is  marked  with  the  names  of  its  visitors.  Above  and  below  it  are  hidi 
perpendicular  lime  stone  blutl's,  surmounted  with  cedars,  above  which  arc 
sailing  in  the  blue,eaglcs,  birds  of  prey,  or  aquatic  fowls.  The  entrance 
to  the  cave  is  just  above  high  water  mark.  It  has  an  arched  roof  25  or  30 
feet  high,  and  extends  back  120  feet.  It  has  occasioiialjy  atfordcd  a  tem- 
porary winter  asylum  to  families,  descending  the  river.  The  immonHo 
prairies,  and  the  numberless  sink  holes  of  this  state  are  curiosities,  no  way 
different  from  the  same  spectacles  in  Missouri. 


.^W' 


.I-)-,, 


t     - 1 


t> 


t    ■  ■    .-•  *  f' 


^'>V, 


V 


"^A* 


TENNESSEE. 


Medial  length,  400 

miles;  medial  breadth  120. 

* 

Between  35°  and 

\W  JKV  N.  latitude,  and  1 

1°  :J0'  and  10°  W.  longitude. 

Bounded  east  by 

North  Carolina;-  south  h 

(T  Georgia,  Alaljania  and  Mississippi;  west  by 

the  river  Mississippi.     It 

was  originally  included  in 

the  state  of  North 

Carolina,  from  which  it 

was  separated,  and  admitted  into  the  Union  in 

1790. 

CIVIL  mVISIONS. 

Counties. 

County  Towns. 

Distances  from  Nashmlle. 

Anderson, 

Clinton, 

105  miles. 

Bedford, 

Shelbyville, 

52 

Bledsoe, 

Pikeville, 

100 

Blount, 

Marysvillo, 

107       '. 

Campbell, 

Jacksboro', 

543 

Carroll, 

Huntingdon, 

109 

Carter, 

Elizabcthton, 

116        , 

Claiborne, 

Tazewell, 

243 

Cooke, 

Newport, 

247 

Davidson, 

Nashville, 

Dickson, 

Charlotteville, 

40 

1  r               *" 

Dyer, 

Dyersburgh, 

k   ' 

168 

Fayette, 

Somcrville, 

184 

Fentress, 

Jamestown, 

131 

Franklin, 

Winchester, 

82 

Gibson, 

Trenton, 

139        M    * 

Giles, 

Pulaski, 

77   ,;..  , 

Grainger, 

Rutletlge, 

•    232 

Greene, 

Grcenvillo, 

273 

Ilardiman, 

Bolivar, 

158 

x*?^ 


4./' 


^    ;    H        '                '          ^    - 

■      ,       '■ffi'-     •.•     ' 

*      334 

TENNESSEE. 

^  Hamilton, 

Hamilton  C.  H. 

148 

;i-l                Hardin, 

Savannah, 

112 

Hawkins, 

Roficrsville,       '**'. 

264 

Haywood, 

Brownsville, 

175 

Henderson, 

Lexington, 

130 

Henry, 

Paris, 

108 

i                                Hickman, 

Vernon, 

66 

Hm 

1                                Humphries, 

Reynoldsburgh, 

78 

1                                 Jackson, 

Gainesboro', 

79 

1                                Jefferson, 

Dund  ridge, 

229 

1                                 Knox, 

Knoxville, 

199 

Lawrence, 

Lawrenceburgh, 

75 

Lincoln, 

Fayettev'Ile, 

73 

.^                       McMirin, 

Athens, 

153 

McNairy, 

Purdy, 

128 

Bhi  i 

Madison, 

Jackson, 

147 

Marion, 

Jasper, 

114 

1                               Maury, 

Columbia, 

42 

1                                Monroe, 

Madisonville, 

168 

1                               Montgomery, 

Clarksville, 

46 

1                                Morgan, 

Morgan  C.  H. 

161 

1     '      ,                     Overton, 
1                                 Obion, 

Monroe, 

109 

Troy, 

161 

wm  % 

1                               Perry, 

Shannonville, 

114 

1                               Rhea, 

Washington, 

129 

■II 

1                               Roane,    . 

Kingston, 

159 

1 

1                              Robertson, 

Springfield, 

25 

'                         Rutherford, 

Murfreesboro', 

33 

I^H 

Sevier, 

Sevier  C.  H. 

225 

Shelby, 

Memphis, 

224 

Smith, 

Carthage, 

52 

Stewart, 

Dover, 

81 

■H  ij 

;                         Sullivan, 

Blountsville, 

306 

I  ffii                              Sumner, 

*         Gallatin, 

25 

mi         •  "^^pto"* 

Covington, 

197 

111                              Warren, 

,     McMinnville, 

74 

lj{  1                              Washington, 

Jonesboro', 

298 

1  m        :-^  •              Wayne, 

Waynesboro', 

92 

■  W                              Weakly, 

Dresden, 

132 

H      ^                      ^^^^' 

Sparta, 

92 

HH                             Williamson, 

Franklin, 

18 

1                              Wilson, 

Lebanon, 

31 

* 


■'.* 


■w,. 


4 


""■  L"l'^».!PBPr^lPK;P< 


^m^timmmm 


mmn 


mmmmmmm'fim 


¥. 


TENNESSEE. 


335 


Nashville  is  714  miles  from  Washington;  5fH  from  New  Orleans; 
297  from  Cincinnati;  288  from  Indianapolis,  and  993  from  New  York. 
The  census  of  1830  gives  the  popiilation  of  this  state  as  follows: — 
Whites,  537,930;  Slaves,  142,37t).     Total  084,822. 

Face  of  the  country.    In  this  respect  this  state  is  more  diversified  than 

any  other  in  the  western  country.    The  Cumberland  Mountains  range 

through  it  in  an  oblique  direction,  dividing  it  into  two  distinct  sections, 

called  East  and  West  Tennessee.    In  East  Tennessee  the  AUeghanies 

branch  out  into  a  great  number  of  ridges.    Among  these  the  most  lofty 

are  Cumberland,  and  Laurel  Ridge.     Stone,  Yellow,  Iron,  Bald,  and 

Unaka  are  different  peaks  of  a  continued  chain.     Welling's  and  Copper 

Ridge,  and  Clinch,  Powell's  and  Bay's  Mountains  are  at  the  north-east  of 

the  state.     It  is  singular,  that  all  these  mountains  have  a  dip  towards  the 

west,  apparently  surpassing  that  of  tlioir  eastern  declivity.     Mountains 

and  hills  occupy  a  very  great  proportion  of  t*'e  state.     There  can  be 

nothing  grand  and  imposing  in  scenery,  nothing  striking  and  picturesque 

in  cascades  and  precipitous  declivities  of  mountains,  covered  with  wood ; 

nothing  romantic  and  delightful  in  deep  and  sheltered   vallies,  through 

which  wind  clear  streams,  which  is  not  found  in  this  state.    Even  the 

summits  of  some  of  the  mountains  exhibit  plateaus  of  considerable 

extent,  which  admit  of  good  roads,  and  are  cultivated  and  inhabited. 

The  mountains  and  hills  subside,  as  they  approach  the  Ohio  and  Missis 

sippi.    On  the  vallies  of  the  small  creeks  and  streams  are  many  pleasant 

plantations,  in.  situations  beautiful,  and  yet  so  lonely  that  they  seem  lost 

among  the  mountains.    These  vallies  are  rich,  beyond  any  of  the  same 

description  elsewhere  in  the  western  country.     The  alluvions  of  the 

great  streams  of  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  differ  little  from  those  of  the 

other  great  streams  of  the  West.     As  great  a  proportion  of  the  cultivable 

land  in  Tennessee  is  first  rate,  as  in  any  other  of  the  western  states. — 

The  soil  in  East  Tennessee  has  uncommon  proportions  of  dissolved  lime, 

and  nitrate  of  lime  mixed  with  it,  which  give  it  a  great  share  of  fertility. 

The  descending  strata  in  West  Tennessee  appear  to  be  arranged  in  the 

following  order:  first,  loamy  soil,  or  mixtures  of  clay  and  sand;  next, 

yellow  clay;  thirdly,  a  mixture  of  red  vSand  and  red  clay;  and  lastly,  a 

sand,  as  white  as  is  seen  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic.     In  the  southern 

parts  of  the  state  are  immense  banks  of  oyster  shells,  of  a  size,  that  in 

some  instances,  the  half  of  a  single  shell  weighs  two  pounds.     They  are 

found  on  high  table  grounds,  far  from  the  Mississippi,  or  any  water  course, 

and  at  a  still  greater  distance  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Earths,  Fossils,  and  Salts.  Beautiful  white,  grey,  and  red  marbles 
are  found  in  this  state.  Inexhaustible  quarries  of  gypsum,  of  the  finest 
quality,  abound  in  East  Tennessee,  in  positions  favorable  to  be  transported 


*%'■  ^ 


■*s,. 


336 


TENNESSEE. 


by  the  boatablc  vatcrs  of  the  Ilolsfon.  Burr  mill  stones  are  quarried 
from  some  of  the  Cumberland  mountains.  Beautiful  specimens  of  rock 
crystals  are  sometimes  discovered.  One  or  two  mines  of  lead  have  been 
worked;  and  iron  ore  is  no  where  more  abundant.  Salt  springs  abound 
in  the  country ;  though  few  of  them  are  of  a  strength  to  justify  their  being 
worked.  Nitrous  earth  is  very  abundant ;  and  any  quantity,  required  in 
the  arts,  might  be  made  from  the  earth  of  the  salt  pctre  caves,  which 
abound  in  this  state. 

These  caves  are  among  the  most  astonishing  curiosities.  One  of  them 
was  descended  400  feet  below  the  surface ;  and  on  the  smooth  lime  stone  at 
the  bottom  was  found  a  stream  of  pure  water,  sufficient  to  turn  a  mill. 
A  cave,  on  an  elevated  peak  of  Cumberland  JMountain,  has  a  perpendicular 
descent,  the  bottom  of  which  has  not  yet  been  sounded.  Caves,  in 
comparison  with  which,  the  one  so  celebrated  at  Antiparos  is  but  a  slight 
exxavation,  are  common  in  this  region  of  subterranean  wonders.  The 
circumstance  of  their  frequency  prevents  their  being  explored.  Were 
there  fewer  in  number,  we  might  amuse  our  readers  with  accurate  descrip- 
tions of  the  noblest  caves  in  the  world.  As  it  is,  little  more  of  them  is 
known,  than  that  they  abound  with  nitrous  earth;  that  they  spring  up 
with  vaulted  roofs,  or  run  along,  for  miles,  in  regular  oblong  excavations. 
A  cave,  which  may  be  descended  some  hundred  feet,  and  traced  a  mile 
in  length,  is  scarcely  pointed  out  to  the  traveller,  as  an  object  worthy  of 
particular  notice.  The  r  o^*  remarkable  of  these  subterranean  wonders 
has  been  traced  ten  miles. 

Climate  and  Prodvctions.  The  climate  of  this  medial  region,  between 
the  northern  and  southern  extremities  of  the  country,  is  delightful. — 
Tennessee  has  a  much  milder  temperature  than  Kentucky.  In  West 
Tennessee  great  quantities  of  cotton  are  raised;  and  the  growing  of  that 
article  is  the  staple  of  agriculture.  Snows,  liowever,  of  some  dei)th  are 
frequent  in  the  winter.  But  the  summers,  especially  in  the  more  elevated 
regions,  are  mild ;  and  have  not  the  sustained  ardors  of  the  same  season 
in  Florida  and  Louisiana.  Apples,  pears,  and  plums,  which  are  properly 
northern  fruits,  are  raised  in  great  perfection.  The  season  of  planting 
for  maize,  in  the  central  parts  of  the  state,  is  early  in  April.  In  elevated 
and  favorable  positions,  no  part  of  the  United  States  is  healthier.  In  the 
low  vallies  where  stagnant  waters  abound,  and  on  the  alluvions  of  the 
great  rivers,  it  is  sickly. 

Almost  all  the  forest  trees  of  the  western  country  are  found  within  tlic 
limits  of  this  state.  The  laurel  tribes  are  not  common.  Juniper,  red 
cedar,  and  savine  are  seen  on  the  numberless  summits  and  declivities  of 
the  mountains.  Cotton,  indigo,  corn,  whiskey,  horses,  cattle,  flour,  gun 
powder,  salt  petre,  poultry,  bacon,  lard,  butter,  apples,  pork,  coarse  linen, 


■'♦-. 

5-^ 


Klif 


TENNESSEE. 


33? 


1<* 


tobacco,  and  various  other  arliolos  constitute  the  loading  of  boats,  that 
comedown  the  Cumberland  and  the  Tennessee;  and  these  articles  are 
produced  in  great  abundance.  Cotton,  of  a  certain  quality,  is  known  by 
the  name  of  Tennessee  cotton,  in  all  places  where  American  commerce 
has  reached.  In  sheltered  situations  figs  might  be  raised  in  perfection. 
The  present  outlets  of  the  commerce  of  the  state  are  the  Cumberland  and 
Tennessee  rivers.  The  southern  divisions  of  this  state  are  so  much 
nearer  the  gulf  of  Mexico  by  the  Alabama  that  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
that  the  enlightened  and  enterprising  people  will,  before  long,  make 
canals,  which  shall  connect  the  waters  of  the  Tennessee  with  those  of  the 
Alabama  and  Mobile;  and  thus  shorten  the  very  circuitous  present 
communications  of  this  slate  with  the  gulf  of  Mexico  to  one  third  of 
their  present  distance. 

Rivers.  We  have  alieady  described  the  Tennessee,  and  its  principal 
branches,  under  the  head  of  Alabama.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  repeat, 
that  it  rises  in  the  Alleghany  mountains,  traverses  East  Tennessee,  and 
almost  the  whole  northern  limit  of  Alabama,  enters  Tennessee,  and 
crosses  nearly  the  whole  width  of  it  into  Kentucky,  and  thence  empties 
into  the  Ohio.  Its  whole  course,  from  its  fountains  to  that  river,  is  longer 
than  that  of  the  Ohio  from  Pittsburgh  to  its  mouth,  being  by  its  meanders, 
nearly  1,200  miles.  It  is  by  far  the  largest  tributary  of  the  Ohio;  and 
t  is  a  question,  if  it  do  not  furnish  as  much  water  as  the  main  river.  It 
is  susceptible  of  boat  navigation  for  at  least  a  thousand  miles.  It  enters 
the  Ohio  thirteen  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland,  and  fifty- 
seven  above  that  of  the  Ohio.  Its  head  branches  in  East  Tennessee  are 
Holston,  Nolachucky,  French  Broad,  Tellico,  Richland,  Clinch,  Big 
Emery,  and  Hiwassee  rivers.  In  its  whole  progress,  it  is  continually 
receiving  rivers,  that  have  longer  or  shorter  courses  among  the  mountains. 
The  principal  of  these  are  Powell's,  Sequalchee,  Elk  and  Duck  rivers. 

The  Cumberland  rises  in  the  Cumberland  mountains,  in  the  south-east 
part  of  Kentucky,  through  which  it  has  a  course  of  nearly  200  miles.  It 
has  a  circuit  in  Tennessee  of  250  miles;  and  joins  the  Ohio  in  the  state  of 
Kentucky.  Its  principal  branches,  in  this  state  are  Obed's  river,  Carey's 
Fork,  Stone's,  Harpeth,  and  Red  rivers.  Most  of  the  tributaries  of  this 
and  Tennessee  rivers  rise  in  the  mountains,  and  .are  too  shallow  for  boat 
navigation,  except  in  the  time  of  fltxKls.  Occasional  floods  occur  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year,  in  which  flat  boats  can  be  floated  down  to  the  main 
river,  to  await  the  stage  of  water,  when  that,  also,  shall  be  navigable  to 
New  Orleans.  Obian,  Forked  Deer,  Big  Hatchee  and  Wolf  rivers,  enter 
the  Mississippi  on  the  western  boundary  of  the  state.  These  rivers  form 
important  boatabic  communications  from  the  interior  of  that  large  and  fine 
district  of  country,  '  the  .facksw  purchase,'  with  the  Mississippi.      It 

43 


# 


111* 


338 


TENNESSEC:. 


would  form  but  n  barren  cafaloguo  of  barbarous  words,  to  give  the  narrica 
of  all  Iho  rivers,  large  and  small,  that  water  this  state.  N*.  ;»art  of  the 
western  country  is  better  watered.  It  is  a  country  of  hills  and  mountains, 
and  mountain  streams,  and  beautiful  vallics.  ** 

The  Jackson  purchase  in  the  west  part  of  Tennessee  has  not  been  settled 
more  than  13  years;  but  its  fertility  and  prosperity  arc  indicated  by  the 
fact,  that  there  are  already  15  or  KJ  comities  in  it. 

Agriculture^  Produce  and  Manufactures.  Cotton  is  the  staple  article 
of  growth.  But  the  soil  and  climate  rear  all  the  products  of  Kentucky,  In 
abundance;  and  as  neither  in  the  staple  of  the  cotton,  or  its  amount,  can 
they  compete  with  tlie  more  southern  states,  and  taking  into  view  the 
great  depression  of  the  price  of  that  article,  it  is  hoped,  that  tlie  hardy 
and  intelligent  farmers  of  this  great  state  will  turn  their  attention  to  some 
other  articles  of  cultivation,  |)articularly  the  silk  mulberry,  the  vine,  and 
the  raising  of  bees,  for  which  the  soil  and  climate  seem  to  be  admirably 
fitted.  Wheat,  rye,  barley,  spelts,  oats,  Indian  corn,  all  the  fruits  of  the 
United  States,  with  the  exception  of  oranges,  grow  luxuriantly  here.  In 
East  Tennessee,  considerable  attention  is  paid  to  raising'cattle  and  horses, 
which  are  driven  over  the  mountains  to  tlie  Atlantic  country  for  sale.  In 
1820,  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  agriculture  was  109,919;  and 
in  manufactures  7,800.  The  amount  of  articles  manufuctured  wag 
estimated  at  between  four  and  five  millions  of  dollars.  The  principal 
articles  were  iron,  hemp,  cotton  and  cordage.  The  exports Jiave  hitherlo 
been  through  New  Orleans.  Some  of  the  articles  are  sent  to  the  head 
waters  of  tlie  Ohio,  and  recently  some  have  been  wagoned  across  tlic 
ridges  to  the  waters  of  the  Alabama,  and  have  found  their  way  to  the  gulf 
by  Mobile.  Over  a  thousand  persons  are  employed  in  conducting  tlie 
commerce  of  the  state. 

Chief  Towns.  Murfreesborough  was  until  recently  the  political 
metropolis  of  the  state.  It  is  situated  on  Stone's  river,  thirty-two  miles 
south-east  from  Nashville;  and  contains  about  fourteen  hundred  inliab- 
itants.  It  is  central  to  the  two  great  divisions  of  the  state,  and  is 
surrounded  by  a  delightful  and  thriving  country. 

Nashville  is  the  present  capital  of  the  state,  and  the  largest  town  in  it. 
It  is  very  pleasantly  situated  on  tlie  south  shore  of  tlie  Cumberland, 
adjacent  to  fine  bluffs.  Steam  boals  can  ordinarily  ascend  lo  this  placc^ 
as  long  as  they  can  descend  fr6m  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland  to  that 
of  the  Ohio.  It  is  a  place,  that  will  be  often  visited,  as  a  resort  for  the 
people  of  tlie  lower  country,  during  the  sultry  months.  Scarcely  any 
town  in  the  western  country,  has  advanced  with  more  rapid  strides. 

The  legislature  has  rescinded  a  law  forbidding  the  introduction  of  any 
branch  of  the  bank  of  the  United  States  into  this  state.   A  branch  of  that 


^. 


1^ 


•9 


* 


TENNESSER. 


IVS\) 


biiiik  lias  been  fixed  lierc,  ami  li;is{riejilly  favoured  llic  growth  nfllie  town. 
A  splendid  liotcl,  which  had  been  burnt,  has  been  rebtiiit  in  more  than  its 
former  beauty.  Tiic  town  is  iidornod  witli  one  of  th»i  Uirgest  iind 
handsomest  market  houses  in  the  western  country.  It  is  the  seat  of  tho 
university  of  Nashville,  which,  in  regard  to  its  professorships,  library, 
chemical  and  philosophical  apparatus,  the  estimation  of  its  president,  and 
the  actual  fruits  of  its  utility,  has  taken  a  high  i)lace  among  western  insti- 
tutions of  the  kind.  It  has  a  number  of  churches,  a  lyceum,  and  many 
handsome  private  dwellings.  It  issues  four  or  five  gazettes,  which  rank 
among  the  most  respectable  in  the  West.  The  citizens  in  general,  evince 
an  encouraging  interest  in  the  advancement  of  science,  literature  and 
taste.  Few  towns  impart  more  pleasant  impressions  of  general  hospitality 
and  urbanity  to  strangers.  It  contains  5,111  inhabitants.  It  is  714  miles 
south-west  from  Washington;  594  north-east  from  New  Orleans;  21)4 
south-west  from  Cincinnati;  288  south  from  Indianapolis,  and  937  south- 
west Irom  New  York. 

Knoxville,  the  chief  town  of  East  Tennessee,  is  sitiiated  on  Holston 
river,  four  miles  below  its  junction  with  French  Broad.  It  contains  about 
3,000  inhabitants;  has  growing  manufactures,  a  respectable  seminary  of 
learning,  and  is  a  pleasant  and  thriving  place.  Knoxville  college  in  this 
town,  is  one  of  the  oldest  seminaries  in  the  state.  Beside  this  and  Nash- 
ville university,  there  is  Greenville  college,  incorporated  in  17J)4,  with 
from  30  to  40  students,  and  the  theological  institution  at  Marysville  in 
East  Tennessee.  It  has  a  library  of  5,500  volumes;  is  under  Presby- 
terian supervision,  containing  in  the  theological  and  academical 
departments,  55  students. 

The  following  are  considerable  villages,  containing  from  500  to  1,500 
inhabitants.  Blountsville,  llogersville,  and  Riitledge  on  Holston  river. 
Tazewell,  Granlsborough  and  Kingston,  on  Clinch  river;  Joncsborough, 
Greenville,  Newport,  Daudridgc,  Suvicrvillo  on  French  Broad  and  its 
waters;  Marysville,  Washington,  Pikevillc,  Madison,  Winchester,  Fayette- 
villo,  Pulaski,  Shelbyvillc,  Columbia,  Vernon  and  Reynoldsburg  on  the 
Tennessee  and  its  waters.  Montgomery,  Monroe,  Sparla,  Carthage, 
Gallatin,  Lebanon,  M'Miimville,  Jeilorson,  Franklin,  Ilaysborough, 
Charlotte,  Springfield,  Clarksvillc  ou  the  Cumberland  and  its  waters. 
One  of  the  most  terrible  storms  recorded  in  the  annals  of  our  country, 
occurred  in  May,  1830,  in  a  district  of  which  Carthage  and  Shelbyville, 
were  Uie  centre.  It  was  a  mingled  tempest  of  wind,  thunder,  lightning 
and  rain.  Trees,  houses,  and  every  thing  on  the  surface  were  prostrated. 
Five  persons  Avere  killed,  and  many  woundtal;  and  property  deslroyod  to 
the  value  of  80,000  dollars.  Menifdiit)  octupics  the  former  site  of  Fort 
Pickering,     it  stands  ou  one  of  the  noblest   blutls  of  the  Mississippi, 


.* 


i^^ 


340 


TENNESSEE. 


proudly  clovatcd  above  that  river,  and  ilH  lino  opiiosito  bottoms.  A 
beautiful  rolling  country  surrounds  it  in  the  rear.  A  remnant  of  the  tribe 
of  the  Chickasaws  resides  near  it.  The  original  inhabitants  of  this  village 
were  chiefly  of  mixed  blood.  Since  it  has  taken  such  an  imposing  name 
it  has  made  considerable  progress,  and  from  its  intermediate  position  be- 
tween the  upper  and  lower  country,  and  from  its  being  the  point  of  general 
traverse  froA.4  Tennessee  to  the  vast  regions  on  the  Arkansas,  Washita, 
and  Red  River,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  it  will  ultimately  become  a 
considerable  place.  It  is  one  of  the  places  on  the  Mississippi,  wliicli 
passing  steam  boats  generally  honor  with  the  discharge  of  their  cannon, 
as  they  ascend  the  river  by  it.  At  no  great  distance  back  of  this  town,  is 
Nashoba,  the  seat  of  the  grand  experiment  of  Miss  Frances  Wright,  in 
her  attempts  to  educate  and  emancipate  slaves. 

Natural  Curiosities.  This  would  easily  swell  to  a  copious  nrticlc. 
We  have  already  touched  on  the  singular  configuration  of  the  lime  stone 
substrata  of  this  country,  from  which  it  results,  that  there  are  numberless 
extensive  cavities  in  the  earth.  Some  have  supposed  that  these  hollows 
are  extended  under  the  greater  part  of  the  surface  of  the  state.  Springs, 
and  even  considerable  streams  of  water  flow  in  them,  and  have  subterran- 
eous courses.  Caves  have  been  explored  at  g.eat  depths  for  an  extent  of 
ten  miles  They  abound  in  singular  chambers,  prodigious  vaulted  apart- 
ments, and  many  of  them,  when  faintly  illumined  with  the  torches  of  the 
visitants,  have  a  gloomy  grandeur,  which  no  description  could  reaoli. 
The  bones  of  animals,  and  in  some  instances,  human  skeletons  have  been 
found  in  them.  The  earth  of  these  caves  is  impregnated  strongly  with 
nitrate  of  lime,  from  which  any  quantity  of  gun  powder  might  be  made. 

On  some  spurs  of  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  called  the  Enchanted 
Mountains,  are  marked  in  the  solid  limestone,  footsteps  of  men,  horses, 
and  other  animals,  as  fresh  as  though  recently  made,  and  as  distinct  as 
though  impressed  upon  clay  mortar.  The  tracts  often  indicate,  that  tlie 
feet  which  made  them,  had  slidden,  as  would  be  the  case  in  descending 
declivities  in  soft  clay.  They  are  precisely  of  the  same  class  with  the 
impress  of  two  human  feet  found  in  a  block  of  solid  limestone,  quarrietl 
at  St.  Louis  on  the  margin  of  the  Mississippi.  The  manner  in  which 
they  were  produced  is  entirely  inexplicable. 

Tennessee  is  abundant  in  petrifactions  and  organic  remains.  Near  the 
southern  boundary  of  the  state  are  three  trees  entirely  petrified.  One  is 
a  cypress,  four  feet  in  diameter.  The  other  is  a  sycamore,  and  tlie  third 
is  a  hickory.  They  were  brought  to  light  by  the  falling  in  of  the  south 
bank  of  the  Tennessee.  A  nest  of  eggs  of  the  wild  turkey  were  dug 
up  in  a  state  of  petrifaction.  Prodigious  claws,  teeth,  and  other  bones  of 
animals  are  found  near  the  salines.     A  tooth  was  recently  in  tlie  posses^ 


# 


TENNESH££. 


ail 


catc,  that  tiie 


sion  of  Jeremiah  Brown,  fis«|.  which  Judge  IIiiywoo«i  affirms,  measured  a 
number  of  feet  in  length,  and  at  the  insertion  of  the  juv/  was  eight  inehcs 
broiid.    At  a  sulphur  spring  12  miles  from  Keynoldsburffh,  was  found  a 
tusk  of  such  enormous  dimensions,  as  that  it  was  supposed  to  weigh  from 
1  to  200  pounds.    It  is  shiring,  yellow,  and  perfectly  retains  the  original 
conformation.    Near  it  were  found  other  bones,  supposed  to  belong  to 
the  same  huge  animal.    It  is  calculated,  from  th(  ippearance  and  size  of 
the  bones,  that  the  animal,  when  living,  must  have  been  20  feet  high. 
Lots  and  coal,  both  pit  and  charcoal  arc  often  dug  up  in  this  state,  at 
depths  from  ()0  to  100  feet  below  the  surface.    Jugs,  vases,  and  idols  of 
moulded  clay  have  been  found  in  so  many  places,  as  hardly  to  be  deemed 
curiosities.    Walls  of  faced  stone,  and  even  walled  wells  have  been  found 
ill  so  many  places,  and  under  such  circumstances,  and  at  such  depths,  as 
to  preclude  the  idea  of  their  having  been  made  by  the  whiles  of  the 
present  day,  or  the  past  generation.     In  this  state,  as  well  as  in  Missouri, 
burying  grounds  have  been  found,  where  the  skeletons  seem  all  to  have 
been  pigmies.    The  graves  in  which  the  bodies  were  deposited,  are  sel- 
dom more  than  two  feet,  or  two  feet  and  a  half  in  length.     To  obviate 
the  objection,  that  these  are  all  bodies  of  children,  it  is  affirmed  that 
these  skulls  are  found  to  possess  the  denies  sapicntioB  and  must  have  be- 
longed to  persons  of  mature  age. 

There  are  many  beautiful  cascades  in  Tennessee.  One  of  the  most  strik- 
ing is  that,  known  by  the  name  of  the  ^falling  water.''  The  cascade  is  8 
miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Caney  Fork,  and  nearly  50  from  Car- 
thage. For  some  distance  above,  the  river  is  a  continual  cataract,  having 
fallen,  in  a  little  distance,  150  feet.  The  'fall,'  or  perpendicular  leap,  is 
200  feet,  or  as  some  measure  it,  150  feet.  The  width  of  the  sheet  is  80 
feet,  and  tlie  noise  is  deafening.  Taylor's  Creek  fall  is  somewhat  greater 
than  this.  It  is  differently  estimated  from  200  to  250.  The  descent  to  the 
foot  of  the  rock  is  difficult  and  dangerous ;  but  the  grandeur  of  the  spectacle 
richly  compensates  the  hazard.  The  spectator  finds  himself  almost  shut 
out  from  the  view  of  the  sky,  by  an  overhanging  cliff,  between  3  and  400 
feet  high.  The  stream  before  him,  falling  from  the  last  rock  in  sheets  of 
foam,  almost  deafens  him  with  the  noise.  A  considerable  breeze  is  created 
by  the  fall,  and  the  mist  is  driven  from  the  falling  spray  like  rain.  Twenty 
yards  below  this,  on  the  south  side,  is  the  most  beautiful  cascade  of  which 
the  imagination  can  conceive.  A  creek  six  or  eight  feet  wide,  falls  from 
the  summit  of  an  overhanging  rock,  a  distance  of  at  least  300  feet.  The 
water,  in  its  descent,  is  divided  into  a  thousand  little  streams,  which  arc 
often  driven  by  the  wind,  in  sliowcrs  of  rain,  for  a  number  of  yards 
distance. 


u 


342 


TKNNKSSEI!. 


MiicJi  (liscnssion  lias  rnsncd,  ami  iniicli  iisoloss  Icixniiii<^  been  llirown 
away,  touching  sumc  silver ;iiid  <'(»|)])ci"<'(iiiis,  found  some  years  since,  ufii 
little  distance  below  the  surface,  near  Fayetteville,  in  this  state.  One  of 
the  silver  coins  jmrports  to  beef  Anlonius  and  the  other  of  Coniniodi/s. 
The  onrth  under  which  the  copper  coins  were  found,  was  covered  witli 
trees,  which  could  not  be  less  than  dOO  years  old.  There  can  be  nodoiibi 
that  such  coins  were  found;  and  there  seems  sonic  difliculty  in  supposing 
them  to  have  been  deposited,  merely  to  play  up:)n  the  credulity  of  sonin 
virtuoso.  But,  as  such  deceptions  have  been  known  to  be  practised,  in 
some  instances,  wcolfer  it  as  a  possible  solution. 

The  paintings,  that  are  found  on  some  high,  and  apparently  inaccessiMc 
rocks,  in  this  state,  have  been  mentioned  as  curiosities,  ever  since  it  li;is 
l)ccn  visited  by  white  men.  The  figures  are  of  the  sun,  moon,  animals, 
and  serpents;  and  arc  out  of  question  the  work  of  former  races  of  men. 
The  colors  arc  presented  as  fresh  as  though  recently  done,  and  the  delin- 
eations in  some  instances  are  vivid  and  ingenious. 

A  curious  appearance,  so  common  to  the  people  of  the  country,  as  no 
longer  to  strike  them  with  wonder,  is  the  immensely  deep  channels,  in 
which  many  of  the  streams  of  this  country  run.  Descending  many  of 
them,  that  are  large  enough  to  be  boatable,  the  astonished  voyager  l(H)ks 
up,  and  sees  himself  borne  along  a  river  running  at  the  base  of  perpen- 
dicular lime  stone  walls,  sometimes  3  or  400  feet  high.  The  view  is  still 
more  grand  and  surprising,  when  the  spectator  looks  down  from  above, 
and  sees  the  dark  waters  rolling  at  such  prodigious  depths  below  him,  inn 
regular  excavation,  that  seems  to  have  been  hewn  from  the  solid  lime- 
stone, on  purpose  to  receive  the  river.  "       '      ' 

Constitution.  This  has  no  essential  difference  of  feature  from  that  of 
the  other  western  states.  In  the  legislature  the  number  of  representatives 
bears  a  given  proportion  to  the  number  of  taxable  inhabitants,  and  tlic 
number  of  senators  must  never  be  more  than  onc-half,or  less  than  one-tliiid 
of  the  number  of  representatives.  To  be  cligililc,  as  members  of  either 
house,  the  person  must  have  resided  three  years  in  the  state,  and  one  in  the 
county;  and  be  possessed  of  200  acres  of  land.  The  governor  is  elected 
for  two  years,  and  is  eligible  six  years  out  of  eight.  He  must  be  25  ynus 
of  age;  must  have  resided  in  the  state  four  years,  and  must  possess  500 
acres  of  land,  to  be  eligible  to  that  office.  The  judiciary  is  divided  into 
courts  of  law  and  equity.  The  legislature  appoints  the  judges,  to  hold 
their  office  during  good  behaviour.  All  free  men  21  years  of  age,  and 
who  have  resided  in  the  county  six  months  [ireceding  the  election,  ih^sscss 
the  elective  franchise. 

Schools.  There  are  four  institutions  in  the  state,  which  bear  the  name 
of  colleges;  one  at  IVashvilic,  one  at  Knoxviile,  one  at  Murysville,  and 
Krenicr  Coligo,  since  ciiangod  to  the  nunio  of  .lolli^rson      'J'he  Cumbci- 


TRNNEfiSER. 


'.m 


hiiul  Picsbytorianfl  rvro  makiiif^  great  olliorls  to  roar  a  Ihcoloiiiral  institu- 
tion, m  which  to  train  young  men  for  thoir  worship.  Thn  college  nt 
Nashville  has  already  yielded  most  cfl'iriont  aid  to  thn  literature  of  the 
state.  Academies  and  common  sc-hools  arc  increasing,  and  the  people 
seem  to  lie  awakening  to  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  education  to  the 
preservation  of  our  Fepul)lican  institutions. 

History.     Tennessee  asserts  cliilms,  along  with  Kentucky,  to  he  the 

coinmon  mother  of  the  western  states.     She  fills  a  largo  and  conspicuous 

r)lacc  in  the  early  annals  of  the  West.    No  state  sulfercd  more  terribly  in 

its  commencement,  from  the  savages.     None  evinced  a  deeper  stake  in 

the  early  altercations  with  Spain,  touching  the  right  of  navigating  the 

Mississippi.    Her  fierce  disputes  with  the  mother  state,  North  Carolina, 

and  the  intestine  broils,  which  gave  origin  to  the  short  lived  republic  of 

Frankland,  while  she  made  arrangements  to  become  an   independent 

state,  have  already  been  recorded.     She  has  already  sent  abroad  thousands 

of  her  sons,  to  people  the    states  of  Missouri,  Illinois,  Mississippi, 

Louisiana,  and  Florida,  Arkansas,  and  even  Texas  in  the  Mexican  country. 

Yet  the  census  of  1830  has  presented  her  in  the  commanding  attitude  of 

numbering  nearly  700,000  inhabitants,  being  the  second  most  populous 

of  the  western  states.     This  result  creates  the  more  surprize,  in  as  much  as 

every  one  conversant  with  the  states  and  territories  beyond,  knows  how 

largely    emigrants  from  this  state  have  contributed  to  their  settlement; 

and  as  this  is  the  only  one  of  the  slave  states  which  has  shown  an  increase 

commensurate  with  the  free  states.         "  • 

The  legislature  of  tliis  state  has  evinced  a  spirit  of  munificence  and 
enterprize,  in  regard  to  literature  and  public  institutions  highly  creditable. 
It  has  recently  appropriated  25,000  dollars  for  the  erection  of  a  peniten- 
tiary, and  150,000  dollars  for  internal  improvements.  It  deems,  that  by 
an  easy  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Tennessee  and  Holston 
rivers,  the  state  will  save  150,000  dollars  annually,  in  the  transport  of  the 
single  article  of  salt. 

Tennessee  has  availed  herself  of  her  influence  of  seniority  and  impor- 
tance in  the  west,  by  leaving  a  respectable  impress  of  her  character  on  the 
states  and  territories  beyond  her.  No  state  shared  a  prouder  part  in  tlie 
late  war.  She  has  already  given  a  President  to  the  Union.  Her  march 
since  she  became  a  state,  has  been  almost  uniformly  patriotic  and  prosper- 
ous, and  she  has  already  attained  to  a  liigh  relative  rank  in  the  general 
confederacy. 


!  t 


r 

•^'      •     1^^    . 

KENTUCKY. 


« 


Mrdial  length,  400  miles.  Medial  breadth,  150  miles;  contains 
40,000  square  miles.  Bounded  north  by  the  river  Ohio,  which  separates 
it  from  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois;  cast  by  Virginia;  soutli  by  Tennessee; 
and  west  by  the  Mississippi,  which  separates  it  from  Missouri. 


it,-^ 

CIVIL  DIVISIONS.     , 

Counties. 

County  Towns.     Distances 

from  Frankj 

Adair, 

Columbia, 

91  miles. 

Allen, 

Scottsville, 

151 

Anderson, 

•m      Lawrenceburgh, 

12 

Barren, 

Glasgow, 

126 

Bath, 

;■        Owingsville, 

73 

Boone, 

Burlington, 

72 

Bourbon, 

Paris, 

43 

Bracken, 

,  Augusta, 

73 

Brackenridge, 

Ilardinsburgh, 

118 

Bullitt, 

SheiJierdsville, 

74 

Butler, 

Morgantown, 

141 

Caldwell, 

Princeton,              n 

229 

Callaway, 

'    Wadesboro', 

262 

Campbell, 

Newport,                 '     ' 

99        . 

Casey, 

Liberty, 

66 

Christian, 

Hopkinsville, 

206 

Clark, 

Winchester, 

45 

Clay, 

Manchester, 

115 

Cumberland, 

Burkesville, 

119 

Daviess, 

Owensboro', 

150 

Edmonson, 

Brownsville, 

138 

Estill, 

Irvine, 

71 

Fayette, 

Fleming, 

Floyd, 

Franklin, 

Gallatin, 

Garrard, 

Grant, 

Graves, 

Grayson, 

Greene, 

Greenup, 

Hancock, 

Hardin, 

Harland, 

Harrison, 

Hart, 

Henderson, 

Henry, 

Hickman, 

Hopkins, 

JeiTerson, 

Jessamine , 

Knox, 

Laurel, 

Lawrence, 

Lewis , 

Lincoln, 

Livingston, 

Logan, 

McCracken, 

Madison, 

Mason, 

Mead 

Mercer, 

Monroe, 

Montgomery, 

Morgan, 

Muhlenburgh, 

Nelson, 

Nicholas, 


f^ 


KENTUCKY. 

Lexingtdn, 

Fiemingburgh, 

Prestonburgh, 

Frankfort, 

Port  William, 

Lancaster, 

Williamstown, 

Mayfield, 

Litchfield, 

Greensburgh, 

Greenup  C.  H. 

Hawsville, 

Elizabethtown, 

Harlan  C.  H. 

Cynthiana, 

Munfordsville, 

Henderson, 

Newcastle, 

Clinton, 

Madison  ville, 

Louisville, 

Nicholasville, 

Barboursville  C. 

Hazel  Patch, 

Louisa, 

Clarksburgh, 

Stanford,  ., 

Salem, 

Russellville, 

Wilmington, 

Richmond, 

Washington, 

Brandenburgh , 

Harrodsburgh, 

Tompkinsville, 

Mount  Sterling, 

West  Liberty, 

Greenville  C.  H. 

Bardstowh, 

Carlisle, 


845 


m 


H. 


25 

79 

142 


f^   % 


57 

r  ■ 

52   • 

44 

284 

,,^ 

110 

90 

132 

>,  m 

130 

--*- 

80 

168 

38 

105 

180 

37 

308 

200   . 

52 

37   , 

122 

102 

127 

96   ^ 

•  1  *  ' 

51   '' 

-' 

245 

171 

289 

50 

63 

90 

30 

144 

60 

107 

177 

65 

6S 

M 


44 


f 


346 


♦^  * 

JiliNTl/C'KY. 

Ohio:  <* 

Ilnrtfurd, 

154 

Oldham, 

WcHtport , 

44 

Owen, 

Owenton , 

28 

Pendleton, 

Falmouth, 

«0 

Perry, 

Perry  C.  H. 

14ft 

Pike, 

Piketon, 

105 

Pulaski, 

Somerset, 

N5 

RockOuHlle, 

Mount  Vernon, 

T.i 

Russell, 

Jamestown, 

i(M» 

Scott, 

Cicorgctown, 

17 

Shelby, 

Shelbyville, 

iil 

Simpson, 

PVunklin, 

165 

Spencer, 

Taylorsville, 

35 

Todd, 

Elk  ton. 

18« 

Trigg, 

Cadiz, 

2i»(> 

Union, 

Morganfield, 

•^05 

Warren, 

Bowling  Green, 

145 

Washington, 

Springfield, 

50 

Wayne, 

Monticello, 

no 

Whitety, 

Whitely  C.  H. 

130 

Woodford, 

Versailles,    • 

13 

The  census  of  1830  gives  the  population  of  this  state  as  follows.- 
Whites,  518,678;  Slaves,  165,350.     Total,  688,841. 

From  the  eastern  limit  of  this  state,  where  it  bounds  on  Virginia,  to  the 
month  of  the  Ohio,  is  between  6  and  700  miles.  In  this  whole  distance, 
the  northern  limit  of  the  state  is  on  the  Ohio.  Thence  it  bounds  on  the 
Mississippi  between  40  and  50  miles.  Almost  the  whole  of  the  state, 
therefore,  in  its  configuration,  belongs  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  The 
eastern  and  southern  front  of  the  state  touches  upon  the  Alleghany 
mountains,  whose  spurs  descend,  for  a  considerable  distance,  into  it.— 
Beyond  the  lower  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee,  the  Kentucky 
shore  slopes  to  the  Mississippi.  The  rivers  Tennessee,  Cumberland,  and 
Kentucky  have  broad  and  deep  vallies.  The  valley  of  Green  River,  and 
that  in  the  central  parts  of  the  state  are  noted  for  their  extent,  beauty, 
and  fertility.  But,  though  Kentucky  has  been  generally  estimated  to 
possess  larger  bodies  of  fertile  land,  than  any  other  western  state,  and 
although  nothing  can  exceed  the  beauty  of  the  great  valley,  of  which 
Lexington  is  the  centre,  yet  there  are  in  Kentucky  large  sterile  tracts, 
and  much  land  too  mountainous,  or  too  poor  for  cultivation.  The  centre 
of  the  state  is  delightfully  rolling.  A  tract  of  country,  nearly  100  miles  in 
one  direction  and  50  in  the  other,  is  found  here,  which  for  beauty  of 


'^^ 


KENTITf.KY, 


mce,  into  it.— 


surface,  amenity  of  IfmilMcnpt,  tli«  jlelijfhtful  nm)ect  of  lis  open  j^roveu, 
;iii(l  llio  oxtniiiM!  fertility  of  it.^  suil,  cxco<!(1h    perliupH  any  other  tract  of 
country  of  the  same  extent.     Under  this  great  extent,  at  a  depth  of  from 
three  to  ten  feet  is  a  substratum  or  tl»K»r  of  limestone.     So  much  dissolved 
lime  is  mixed  with  the  soil,  as  to  impart  to  it  a  wui  n  and  forcinj^  (piality, 
which  imparts,  when  the  earth  is  sufficiently  moist,  an  inexpressiblo 
frcslmcHS  and  vij^or  to  tlio  vegetation.     Through  this  beautiful  country 
nieaiidcr  Ihc  Little  Snndy,  Kicking,  Kentucky  and  Salt  Rivera,  and  their 
numerous  hrniiches.     Tn  it  there  are  few  precipitous  hills.     Much  of  the 
flftil  is  of  that  character,  technically  known  by  the  name  ^mulatto  land.'* 
The  woods  have  a  charming  aspect,  as  though  they  were  promiscuously 
arranged  for  a  pleasure  ground.    Grape  vines  of  prodigious  size  climb 
tlio  trees,  and  spread  their  umbrageous  leaves  over  all  the  other  verdure. 
Black  walnut,  black  cherry,  honey  locust,  buck  eye,  pawpaw,  sugar  tree, 
mulberry,  elm,  ash,  hawthorn,  coffee  tree,  and  the  grand  yellow  poplar, 
frees  which  indicate  tlie  ricliest  soil,  are  every  whore  abundant.    In  the 
first  periods  of  the  settlement  of  the  country,  it  was  covered  with  a  thick 
cane  brake,  that  has  disappeared,  and  has  been  replaced  by  a  beautiful 
grass  sward  of  a  peculiar  cast  even  in  the  forest.    In  the  early  periods  of 
spring,  along  with  the  purple  and  redundant  flowers  of  the  red  bud,  and 
the  beautiful  white  blossoms  of  the  dog  wood,  there  is  an  abundance  of 
that  Ijeautiful  plant,  the  May  apple,  the  rich  verdure  of  which  has  an  in- 
describable effect  upon  the  eye.    The  trees  generally  are  not  large,  but 
tall, straight,  and  taper;  and  have  the  aspect  of  having  lx;en  transplanted 
to  the  places  which  they  occupy.    Innumerable  branches  wind  among 
these  copses;  and  in  the  declivites  burst  out  springs  of  pure  limo   stone 
water.  -  '  _  •  ;  *        • 

That  part  of  the  state,  which  borders  on  Tennessee  and  Virginia,  re- 
sembles the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Alleghanies  in  Tennessee.  The 
landscape  painter  might  come  here,  and  find,  that  nature  had  transcended 
any  mental  conceptions  of  the  beau  ideal  of  scenery.  The  numerous 
mountain  branches  wind  round  the  bases  of  the  small  table  hills,  cutting 
down  deep  and  almost  frightful  gullies,  and  forming  'caves,'  as  they  are 
called  by  the  people,  or  gulfs,  covered  with  the  shade  of  immensely  large 
poplars,  often  eight  feet  in  diarfieter.  Such  a  tree  will  throw  into  the  air 
a  column  of  an  hundred  feet  shaft.  No  words  would  convey  adequate 
ideas  of  the  lonely  beauty  of  some  of  these  secluded  spots. 

Between  the  Rolling  Fork  of  Salt  river  and  Green  river  is  a  very  ex- 
tensive tract,  called  'barrens.'  The  soil  is  generally  good,  though  not  of 
the  first  quality.  But  the  country,  sparsely  shaded  with  trees,  is  covered 
with  grass  like  a  prairie,  and  affords  a  fine  range  for  cattle.  Between  Green 


■■» 


>  i*. 


348 


KBMTVCKY. 


and  Cumberland  rivers  is  a  still  larger  tract  of 'barrens.'  Spread  over  this 
district  is  an  immense  number  of  knobs,  covered  with  shrubby  and  post 
oaks.  In  the  year  1800,  the  legislature  made  a  gratuitous  grant  of  400 
acres  of  this  land  to  every  man,  who  chose  to  become  an  actual  settler. 
A  great  many  occupants  were  found  on  these  conditions.  The  country 
proved  to  be  uncommonly  healthy.  So  much  of  the  land  was  incaiable 
of  clearing  and  cultivation  from  a  variety  of  causes,  that  the  range  will 
probably  remain  unimpaired  for  a  long  time.  Game  abounds.  Swine 
are  raised  with  the  greatest  ease.  Enough  land  is  capable  of  cultivation, 
to  supply  all  the  needs  of  the  settlers.  Many  farmers  on  this  soil  make 
fine  tobacco.  These  lands  have  come  into  reputation ;  and  they  who 
received  their  farms  as  a  free  gift,  are  now  living  comfortably  and  rearing 
respectable  families  in  rustic  independence. 

For  variety  of  hill  and  dale,  for  the  excellence  of  the  soil,  yielding  in 
abundance,  all  that  is  necessary  for  comfortable  subsistence,  for  amenity 
of  landscape,  beauty  of  forest,  the  number  of  clear  streams  and  fine 
rivers,  health,  and  the  finest  developement  of  the  human  form,  and  patri- 
archial  simplicity  of  rural  opulence,  we  question  if  any  country  can  be 
found  surpassing  Kentucky.  We  have  heard  the  hoary  *residenters,'  the 
compatriots  of  Daniel  Boone,  speak  of  it  as  it  appeared  to  them,  when 
they  first  emigrated  from  their  native  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  It  was 
in  the  spring  when  they  arrived.  The  only  paths  among  the  beautiful 
groves,  were  those  which  the  bufialoes  and  bears  had  broken  through  the 
cane  brakes.  The  wilderness  displayed  one  extended  tuft  of  blossoms. 
A  man  stationed  near  one  of  these  paths,  could  kill  game  enough,  with  a 
proportion  of  turkeys  and  other  large  birds,  in  an  hour,  to  supply  the 
wants  of  a  month.  There  can  be  no  wonder  that  hunters,  men  who  had 
been  reared  among  the  comparatively  sieile  hills  of  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  men  who  loved  to  range  mountain  streams,  and  sheltered  glades, 
should  have  fancied  this  a  terrestrial  paradise.  The  beautiful  configuration 
of  the  soil  remains  The  whole  state  is  studded  with  plantations.  The 
buffaloes,  bears,  Indians,  and  the  cane  brake,  the  wild,  and  much  of  the 
naturally  beautiful  of  the  country  is  no  more.  The  aged  settlers  look  back 
to  the  period  of  this  first  settlement  as  a  golden  age.  To  them  the  earth 
seems  to  have  been  cursed  with  natural  and  moral  degeneracy,  deformity 
and  sterility,  in  consequence  of  having  been  settled.  This  is  one  of  the 
solutions  to  account  for  that  restless  desire  to  leave  the  settled  country, 
and  to  emigrate  to  new  regions,  which  so  strongly  marks  many  of  the  old 
settlers. 

Rivers.     The  Ohio  washes  a  long  extent  of  the  northern  frontier;  and 
the  Mississippi  a  considerable  distance  of  the  south-western  shore.    The 


f 


M* 


•t?' 


KENTUCKY. 


349 


former  river  we  propose  to  describe  under  the  head  of  the  state  of  Ohio; 
and  the  latter  has  already  been  described.     Most  of  the  rivers  of  this  state 
rise  in  its  southern  limits,  and  flow  northwardly  into  the  Ohio.     The  state      '^'  •! 
may  be  considered  as  one  vast  plateau,  or  glacis,  sloping  from  the  Alle- 
ghany hills  to  the  Ohio. 

Big  Sandy  rises  in  the  Alleghany  Mountains  near  the  heads  of  Cum- 
berland and  Clinch,  and  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  state  for 
nearly  200   miles.    Forty  miles  before  its  entrance  into  the  Ohio,  it  ^ 

divides  into  two  branches,  the  North-East  and  the  South  Forks.  It  is 
navigable  to  the  Ouascioto  Mountains.  At  its  entrance  into  the  Ohio  it 
is  200  yards  broad.  In  its  progress  it  receives  a  great  number  of  large 
creeks,  among  which  are  Shelby,  Bear,  Turtle,  Bartle's,  Paint  and  Blane's, 
all  of  which  run  east,  or  north-east.  Between  Sandy  and  Licking  the 
following  creeks  and  streams  enter  the  Ohio,  being  from  20  to  70  miles 
long,  and  from  50  to  12  yards  wide  at  their  mouth.  Little  Sandy  enters 
22  miles  below  Big  Sandy ;  and  the  following  creeks  enter  the  Ohio  at 
moderate  distances,  not  exceeding  22,  and  not  falling  short  of  2  or  3 
miles  from  each  other ;  viz :  Tiget's  Creek,  Conoconeque,  Salt  Lick  Creek, 
Sycamore,  Crooked  Creek,  Cabin  Creek,  Brook  Creek,  Lime  Stone,  and 
Bracken. 

Licking  River  rises  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  state  almost  inter- 
locking with  the  head  waters  of  Cumberland  River.  It  seeks  the  Ohio 
by  a  north-western  course ;  and  meets  it  at  Newport,  opposite  Cincinnati. 
It  has  a  sinuous  course  of  200  miles.  In  dry  summers  the  water  almost 
disappears  from  the  channel.  When  the  streams  are  full,  in  the  winter 
and  spring  many  flat  boats  descend  it  from  a  distance  of  70  or  80  miles 
from  its  mouth.     It  waters  a  rich  and  well  settled  country. 

Kentucky  is  an  important  stream,  and  gives  name  to  the  state.    It  rises 

in  the  south-east  parts  of  it,  interlocking  with  the  head  waters  of  Licking 

and  Cumberland.      By  a  north-west  course,  it  finds  the  Ohio  at  Port 

WiUiam,  77  miles  above  Louisville.    It  is  150  yards  wide  at  its  mouth, 

and  navigable  150  miles.     It  has  a  rapid  current,  and  high  banks.   Great 

part  of  its  length  it  flows  in  a  deep  chasm,  cut  from  perpendicular  banks 

of  lime  stone.     Nothing  can  be  more  singular  than  the  sensation  arising 

from  floating  down  this  stream  and  looking  up  this  high  parapet  at  the 

sun  and  the  sky  from  this  dark  chasm.     Elkhorn,  a  beautiful  stream  that 

enters  Kentucky  River  ten  miles  below  Frankfort,  has  two  forks.     The 

first  heads  near  Lexington,  and   the  second  near  Georgetown.     These 

branches  water  Scott  and  Fayette  counties,  and  are  well  calculated  for 

driving  mills  of  all  kinds.     Dick's  River  is  a  branch  of  Kentucky.    It 

has  a  course  of  50  miles,  and  is  50  yards  wide  at  its  mouth.    Its  current, 

like  that  of  the  parent  stream,  is  rapid;  and  its  course  confined  by  preci- 


!      I 


%. 


350 


KENTUCKY. 


i^.  pices  of  lime  stone,  down  which  the  astonished  spectator  looks  often  300 
feet,  before  the  eye  catches  the  dark  stream  rolling  below.  Salt  River 
rises  in  Mercer  county  from  three  head  sources,  and  enters  the  Ohio  20 
miles  below  Louisville.  It  is  boatable  150  miles,  and  is  150  yards  wide 
at  its  mouth.  It  passes  through  Jefferson,  Greenup,  Washington,  and 
Mercer  counties* 

Green  River  rises  in  Lincoln  county.  It  enters  the  Ohio,  200  miles 
below  Louisville,  50  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Cumberland.  It  is  boat- 
able  200  miles,  and  200  yards  wide  at  its  mouth.  It  receives,  in  its 
progress,  a  great  number  of  tributaries,  among  which  are  Great  Barren, 
Little  Barren,  Rough  River,  and  Panther's  Creek.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
important  rivers  in  the  state,  and  has  a  great  length  of  boatable  water. 

Cumberland  river  rises  in  the  south-east  corner  of  this  state,  interlock- 
ing with  the  south  fork  of  Big  Sandy.  We  have  already  partially  described 
this  river;  but  as  it  belongs  as  much  to  this  state,  as  Tennessee,  we  add 
that  it  runs  eighty  miles  in  this  state;  then  crosses  into  Tennessee;  runs 
forty  miles  in  that  state;  and  makes  a  curve,  by  which  it  returns  into 
this  state  again.  It  once  more  enters  that  state,  after  a  course  of  fifty 
miles  in  tliis.  It  winds  200  miles  through  Tennessee;  passes  by 
Nashville,  and  once  more  enters  this  state.  It  unites  with  the  Ohio  by 
a  mouth  300  yards  in  width;  and  is  navigable  by  steam  boats  of  the  first 
class  to  Nashville;  and  by  keel  boats,  in  moderate  stages  of  the  water, 
300  miles  farther.  It  is  a  broad,  deep,  and  beautiful  river,  and  uncom- 
monly favorable  to  navigation.  Trade  Water,  and  Red  River  are  its  prin- 
cipal branches,  in  Kentucky.  The  one  is  70,  and  the  other  50  yards 
wide  at  its  mouth.  The  Tennessee,  of  which  we  have  already  given  a 
description,  enters  the  Ohio  in  this  state;  and  runs  in  it  seventy-five  miles. 
Kaskinompas  River  rises  near  the  Tennessee,  and  running  a  western 
course,  enters  the  Mississippi,  half  w?iy  between  the  mouth  of  Ohio 
and  New  Madrid. 

Minerals  and  Mineral  Waters.  The  state  is  all  of  secondary 
formation.  Lime  stone  and  marble,  of  the  most  beautiful  species, 
abound.  Coal  appears  in  some  places,  especially  along  the  Ohio.  Iron 
ore  is  in  the  greatest  abundance;  and  is  wrought  to  a  considerable  extent. 
Lead,  and  copperas,  and  aluminous  earths  are  found.  There  are  a 
number  of  salt  springs  in  the  state,  from  which  great  quantities  of  salt 
used  to  be  made.  But  salt  is  made  so  much  cheaper,  and  more  abundant- 
ly at  the  Kenhawa  works,  that  this  state  imports  chiefly  from  that  place. 

In  Cumberland  county,  in  boring  for  salt  water,  at  the  depth  of  180 
feet  a  fountain  of  Petroleum,  or  what  is  there  called  mineral  oil,  was 
struck.  When  the  auger  was  withdrawn,  the  oil  was  thrown  up  in  a 
continued  stream  more  than  twelve  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  carlli. 


,'*• 


)oks  often  300 
Salt  River 
rs  the  Ohio  5>0 
50  yards  wide 
shington,  and 

io,  200  miles 
It  is  boat- 
^ceives,  in  its 
Great  Barren, 
le  of  the  most 
ble  water, 
ite,  interlock- 
ally  described 
essee,  we  add 
inesseej  runs 

returns  into 
;ourse  of  fifty 
e;  passes  by 

the  Ohio  by 
s  of  the  first 
jf  the  water, 
,  and  uncom- 
2r  are  its  prin- 
ther  50  yards 
•eady  given  a 
ity-five  miles. 
ig  a  western 
uth  of  Ohio 

f  secondary 
iful  species, 
Ohio.    Iroji 
rable  extent, 
rhere  are  a 
ities  of  salt 
re  abundant- 
lliat  place, 
pth  of  180 
sral  oil,  was 
wn  up  in  a 
:)f  the  earfli. 


KENTUCKV. 


351 


Although  the  quantity  somewhat  abated,  after  the  discharge  of  the  first 
few  minutes,  during  which  it  was  supposed  to  emit  75  gallons  a  minute, 
it  still  continued  to  flow  in  a  stream,  that  made  its  way  to  the  Cumberland, 
for  a  long  distance  covering  the  surface  with  its  oily  pellicle.  It  is  so 
penetrating,  as  to  be  difficult  to  confine  in  any  wooden  vessel.  It  ignites 
f(^ly,  produces  a  flame  as  brilliant  as  gas  light,  for  which  it  might 
become  a  cheap  and  abundant  sjibstitute. 

The  Olympian  Springs,  47  mil  s  east  of  Lexington,  are  in  a  romantic 

situation.    They  consist  of  a  number  of  springs  of  different  medicinal 

qualities,  partly  sulphureous,  and  partly  chalybeate,  and  are  a  place  of  great 

resort.    Big  Bone  Lick  is  20  miles  below  Cincinnati  on  the  Kentucky 

side  of  the  river,  and  not  far  from  it.     The  waters  are  impregnated  with 

sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas,  and  have  a  peculiarly  favourable  effect,  in 

dropsical  cases,  and  affections  of  the  liver.     The  huge  organic  remains  of 

animals,  called  by  the  name  mammoth,  were  found  in  great  numbers  in 

digging  near  this  lick.     There  are  great  numbers  of  mineral  springs,  of 

diflferent  qualities  in  different  parts  of  the  state.    But  the  medicinal 

spring,  which  is  far  the  most  frequented  of  any,  is  that  near  Harrodsburg. 

The  water  has  a  slight  sweetish  and  styptic  taste.     It  contains  sulphate 

of  magnesia,  and  other  mineral  impregnations.     There  are  fine  accom- 

modatio'^s  for  invalids.    The  situation  is  healthy  and  delightful;  and  in 

the  summer  it  has  become  a  great  and  fashionable  resort  for  invalids  from 

this  and  the  neighboring  states.     The  waters  are  salutary  in  affections  of 

the  liver,  and  dyspeptic  and  chronic  complaints;  and  this  is,  probably, 

one  of  the  few  springs  where  the  waters  are  really  a  salutary  and  efficient 

remedy  for  the  cases,  to  which  they  are  suited. 

Agriculture  and  Produce,  Kentucky,  from  her  first  settlement,  has 
had  the  reputation  of  being  among  the  most  fertile  of  the  western  states 
The  astonishing  productiveness  of  her  good  lands,  the  extent  of  her  cul- 
tivation, the  multitude  of  flat  boats,  which  she  loads  for  New  Orleans' 
market,  and  the  great  quantities  of  produce,  which  she  now  sends  off"  by 
steam  boats  justify  the  conclusion.  All  the  grains,  pulses  and  fruits,  of 
the  temperate  climates,  she  raises  in  the  greatest  abundance.  Her  wheat 
is  of  the  finest  kind ;  and  there  is  no  part  of  the  western  country  where 
maize  is  raised  with  greater  ease  and  abundance.  Garden  vegetables  of 
all  kinds  succeed.  Grapes,  of  the  cultivated  kinds,  are  raised  for  table 
fruit,  in  many  places ;  and  there  are  considerable  numbers  of  vineyards, 
where  wine  is  made.  Cotton  is  not  raised,  except  for  domestic  use. 
Hemp  and  tobacco  are  the  staples  of  the  state.  Botli  are  raised  in  the 
greatest  perfection.  In  1820,  the  number  of  pei-sons  employed  in  agri- 
cnUnro.  wns  l'^'?,«0  nnd  of   ?naT)uf:t(Mi.irc>.  ]10,'/79;  and  of  persons 


t.  I 


•4 


I    s 


^■^ 


^^ 


\   i 


352 


KENTUCKY* 


employed  in  commerce,  1,607.  The  products  of  agriculture  and  man- 
ufactures have  since  increased  nearly  in  the  ratio  of  the  increasing  popu- 
lation. 

t^  The  present  exports  are  chiefly  to  New  Orleans;  though  a  considerable 

quantity  of  produce  and  manufactures  ascends  the  Ohio  to  Pittsburgh. 
It  is  not  uncommon  for  the  growers  of  the  produce  of  this  state,  on 
arriving  at  New  Orleans,  to  ship,  on  their  own  account,  to  the  Atlantic 
Slates,  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  the  West  Indies.  Besides  the  articles  men- 
tioned above,  she  sends  off  immense  quantities  of  flour,  lard,  butter, 
cheese,  pork,  beef,  Indian  corn  and  meal,  whiskey,  cider,  cider  royal,  fruit, 

-  both  fresh  and  dried,  and  various  kinds  of  domestic  manufactures. 

Horses  are  raised  in  great  numbers,  and  of  the  noblest  kmds.  A 
handsome  horse  is  the  highest  pride  of  a  Kentuckian,  and  common  farmers 
own  from  ten  to  fifty.  Great  numbers  are  carried  over  the  moiintains  to 
the  Atlantic  states;  and  the  principal  supply  of  saddle  and  carriage 
horses  in  the  lower  country  is  drawn    from    Kentucky,  or  the  other 

;  western  states.     The  horses  are  carried  down  in  flat  boats.     Great  droves 

of  cattle  are  also  driven  from  this  state,  over  the  mountains,  to  Virginia 

^4  and  Pennsylvania. 

In  1828  the  value  of  the  cattle,  horses,  and  swine,  driven  out  of  the 
state,  numbered  and  valued  at  one  point  of  passage,  the  Cumberland 
Ford,  was  a  million  dollars.  The  returns  of  the  value  of  exports,  agri- 
cultural and  manufactured,  in  1829,  wanted  a  number  of  counties  of 
comprising  the  whole  state;  but  this  partial  return  gave  2,780,000 
dollara. 

Chief  Torens.  Frankfort,  the  political  metropolis  of  the  state,  is  sit- 
uated on  the  north  bank  of  the  Kentucky,  60  miles  above  its  entrance 

**  into  the  Ohio.     The  environs  of  the  beautiful  plain,  on  which  the  town 

is  built,  are  remarkable  for  their  romantic  and  splendid  scenery.  The 
river  divides  the  town  into  Frankfort  and  South  Frankfort,  which  are 
connected  by  a  bridge  across  the  Kentucky,  which  here  flows  between 
banks  4  or  500  feet  in  height.  Both  divisions  contain  about  2,000  in- 
habitants. The  State  House  is  entirely  of  marble,  with  a  front  presenting 
a  portico  supported  by  Ionic  columns,  the  whole  having  an  aspect  of 
magnificence.  It  contains  the  customary  legislative  halls,  and  apart- 
ments for  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  the  Federal  Court.  The  stair  way 
under  the  vault  of  the  dome  has  been  much  admired.  The  penitentiary 
usually  contains  over  100  convicts,  and  is  one  of  the  few  establishments 
of  the  kind  in  the  United  States  the  income  from  which  exceeds  the  ex- 
penses.  Its  other  public  buildings  are  three  churches,  an  academy,  and 
county  Court  House.    It  has  a  number  of  respectable  manufacturing 


KENTUCKY. 


353 


establislimonts,  among  which  arc  three  manufactories  of  cotton  bagging, 
a  rope  walk,  a  cotton  factory,  two  large  warehouses,  and  the  usual  number 
of  corresponding  cstablisliments.  It  is  at  the  head  of  steam  boat  navi- 
tralion,  having  three  or  four  steam  boats  in  regular  employ,  when  the 
stafre  of  water  in  the  river  admits;  and  is  a  place  of  considerable  com- 
mercial enterprize.  The  public  inns  are  on  a  respectable  footing;  and  it 
is  a  place  of  much  show  and  gaiety.  The  houses  in  particular  arc  singu- 
larly neat,  many  of  them  being  built  of  the  beautiful  marble  furnished 
by  the  baulks  of  the  river.  Sea  vessels  have  been  built  here,  and  floated 
to  New  Orleans.  It  is  situated  212  miles  from  Nashville;  800  from  New 
Oilcans;  ^0  north-west  from  Lexington;  149 from  Indianopolis ;  252 from 
Viindalia;  550  from  Washington;  321  from  St.  Louis;  and  85  from  Cin- 
cinnati . 

Lexington,  the  commercial  capital  of  the  state,  and  one  of  its  most 
ancient  towns,  received  its  name  from  some  hunters,  who  were  encamped 
inidcr  ll)c  shade  of  the  original  forest,  where  it  is  built,  and  who,  receiv- 
ing the  first  intelligence  of  Lexington  battle  in  Massachusetts,  named  the 
town  after  that,  where  commenced  the  great  struggle  of  American  inde- 
pendence. It  was  for  a  long  time  the  political'  metropolis  of  the  state, 
and  iJie  most  important  town  in  the  West. 

Transylvania  University  has  fair  claims  to  precedence  among  western 
collegiate  institutions.  Its  chief  edifice  was  burnt  two  years  since,  but 
is  now  rci)lacod  by  a  handsome  and  more  commodious  one.  It  has  twelve 
|)rofcssors  and  tutors,  and  in  the  academical,  medical,  and  law  classes, 
JJ715  students.  The  buildings  for  the  medical  department  are  large  and 
commodious;  and  its  library  contains  4,500  volumes  of  standard  works  in 
medicine.  All  the  libraries  connected  with  the  University  number  14,100 
volumes.  The  law  school  has  25  pupils;  and  the  medical  class  211, 
from  all  the  southern  and  western  states.  The  reputation  of  its  profes- 
sors has  given  it  a  deservedly  high  standing. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Peers  is  at  the  head  of  a  school  gaining  great  reputation, 
as  being  the  only  one  known  in  the  United  States,  the  pupils  of  which 
are  professedly  guided  in  their  whole  discipline,  with  reference  to  tlie 
physical,  organic  and  moral  laws  of  our  being.  The  Female  Academy, 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  Mr.  Woods  is  in  high  repute,  and  has  100  pupils. 
There  are  various  other  schools  which  concur  with  these  to  vindicate  the 
high  literary  estimation  of  this  city. 

The  other  public  edifices  are  as  follows:  a  handsome  and  spacious 
Court  House,  a  large  Masonic  Hall,  and  elc^ven  churches,  in  which  all 
the  denominations  of  Christianity  are  represcJited.  The  State  Lunatic 
Asylum  is  a  spacious  and  very  commodious  building,  containing,  on  an 
average,  90  deranged  patients,  under  the  guidance  and  eflicient  care  of 


■Vf 


1i 


!i!' 


3&1 


klJN'l'lUlUV. 


I>iiy.sicianH,  siir^'uoiiH,  :iii«l  iuiihi'h.  TIk!  (Jiiilud  SluUts  Umucli  Hank  Ikim 
ii  lar^ro  biiiikiii^r  liuusu,  in  wliiili  l)iistiu!.ss  in  llu.>  way  i>l'  disrouiit  and 
lut^roiiation  of  liills,  is  aiiiiiially  h-aiisa«-k>(l  Id  llio  amount  of  ,*;^'1,'<0(I,()0(). 
The  diiol'  niunufacfurcs  arc  llioso  of  roll»)n  liaj,r<i;in;^',  und  various  kinds 
of  conla<j[e,  i>arUcidarly  Nak;  ro|»c.  Ol"  ili(<  I'ornirr  vvt^ro  nianul'.uUnod  in 
1830,  l,(HKMMH)yards;  und  of  llu:  killer  :lVU)(),()00  pouuds.  Tiioro  nro 
(lirou  factories  for  s|>innin<^' and  \veaviu<^r  wool,  and  live  or  six  for  i-.olton- 
and  uno  lur^'u  and  sovinal  uinuller  niacliinc-niukin^r  fuctorics.  In  t|,^ 
woollen  faetoriet)  arc  nianidaclnrrd  haudsonii;  carjurls. 

Tho  town  buiklin^s  in  ^roncral  arc  liandsonic,  and  Mtniu  are  niairnificuiu. 
Fow  towns  in  tluj  West,  or  olst!wliere,aro  more  deli<j;lilfully  silnaled.  lis 
environs  have  u  sin^^ular  suftntss  and  amenity  of  landsea|)(>,  and  llie  town 
wears  an  air  of  neatness,  opulence,  and  repose,  indicalin;j[  k;isure  and 
studiousness,  rather  than  Ihe  hnslle  of  business  and  conunerccr.  Ji  is 
situated  in  the  centre  of  a  proverbially  ricii  and  beautiful  country.  'J'im 
frequency  of  handsome  villas  and  ornamented  rural  mansions,  imparl  tlio 
impression  of  vicinity  to  an  opulent  meli»»polis.  A  beautiful  branch  of 
the  Elkhorn  runs  throu<^h  Ihecily,  and  supplies  it  wilh  water.  The  main 
street  is  a  mile  and  a  (|uar(er  in  leii<^r||i,  and  St)  feel  wide;  well  paved, 
and  the  principal  roads  leadin;ir  frou)  it  to  Ihe  country  are  McAdami/ud 
to  some  distance.  In  the  centre  of  Ihe  town  is  Ihe  public  s(|uare,  sin- 
roiuided  by  handsome  building's.  In  this  stpiare  is  the  market  hou.sc, 
which  is  amply  supplied  with  all  the  producls  of  Ihe  slate.  The  inhabit- 
ants arc  cheertul,  intelli^'eul,  conversable,  and  noted  for  iheir  hospitality 
to  strangers.  The  professional  men  are  ilislin^niished  lor  their  attaia- 
menls  in  their  several  walks,  and  many  distinguished  and  eminent  nioa 
have  had  their  origin  here.  The  University  with  its  professors  and  stu- 
dents, and  the  numerous  distinguished  strangers  tJiat  are  visiting  here, 
during  the  summer  months,  add  to  the  at  tractions  of  thccity.  The  people 
arc  addicted  to  giving  parties;  and  Ihe  tone  of  society  is  fashionable  and 
[deasant.  Strangers,  in  general,  are  nuich  pleased  with  a  temjiorary 
sojourn  in  this  city,  which  conveys  high  ideas  of  the  rclinerncut  aiidlaslo 
of  the  country.  'J'here  arc  now  much  larger  towns  in  Ihe  West;  but 
none  presenting  more  beauty  and  intelligence.  The  stranger,  on  ilnding 
himself  in  the  midst  of  its  pulished  and  interesting  society,  cannot  but  be 
carried  back  by  the  strong  cimtrast  to  Ihe  time,  when  the  patriarchial 
hunters  of  Kentucky,  reclining  on  their  bulfaloe  robes  around  their  even- 
ing fires,  canopied  by  the  lolly  trees  and  the  stars,  gave  it  the  name  it 
l)ears,  by  patriotic  acclamation. 

The  ninnber  of  iidiabitanls  is  li,ltM.  It  is  situated  *i5  miles  south-east 
of  Frankfort;  '257  north-east  from  Nashville;  80 south  from  Cincinnati; 
and  520  .south-west  from  Washini'ton. 


-     -  A  , 


KnNTrrKY. 


3f»r. 


l.oiiiRvillo,  nt  tlio  fills  of  (Ik^  Ohio,  in  u  romincrcjiil  point  of  view,  is 
f;irl!i<'  ino^**  imporlJint  town  in  tlio  slnlf*.  Tli"  iiniii  Hlirct  is  nonrly  »  niil«* 
inl('iii,'tli,!inil  isnHii(»l>l(\:isr<)n)jmc.t,!m<l  Ikihjis  miirli  tlionir  orjuniinilimc 
town,  !is  ;my  sticol  in  llio  wcslrrii  <'<nintiy.  It  is  sifitnlcd  on  iun!\tonsivc 
sIopiii,'-![  pl'iin,  Itcldw  llic  inoiilli  ol"  n(';ii<.fi!iss,  iilioiit  ii  ipiurter  t)f'  a  mile 
jilidvii  flic  piiii<ip:il  «Iorlivilyor(lH'i;ills.  'rii(>  lliroo  pritM'.ip!iI  slnnitsriin 
p:inllt'l  willi  tlic  river,  and  ctimiriand  lino  virws  ol"  llm  villiiffrs  nn<l  tlio 
hciiulirid  <'.«niiiliy  «»n  tlicopposilc'   .shore. 

Tlui  puhlic  hnildiiif^'H  mo  n  conrl  house,  jiiil,  po<ir  honso,  nnd  work 
house,  p(»\vd<'nna;^ni/in(!,  marine  hospiln I,  city  selnM)l  lionsc, oighl  chiirdieH 
l()r  llio  pnivaleni  «lenoniinalions  oi' Iho  roiintry,  Washin<i;t.(m  Ilnll,  Co- 
Inniliian  inn.  and  olhenesiMvtahle  hotels,  City  Kail,  United  StatosBmndi 
l{;ink,  house  of  l''ir<^  an<l  Mariiu;  Insuianec^  (/oinjiany.  Iron  Foundry, 
JelU'ison  ("oltoti  l''a<-.lory,  five  Stoiini  Mills,  Union  Hall,  find  ThMtro, 

The  Marino  Hospital  is  :i  <'onspie,U(tUH  !in<l  showy  huildinpf.  The  frco 
Puhlic  Selioul  llonso  is  M  iiohleedifiee,  takinj,' into  view  its  ohjoct.  If 
was  c(»innionce(l  in  IS2*),  as  a  kind  of  model  scliof*!  for  ft  f,'oiiornl  Kystcm 
of  Free  Schools;  and  was  hnilt  at  an  oxpense  of  7,r)(M)  dollars.  It  is 
intended  to  acconnnodate?  or  NOO  pupils. 

The  position  of  this  city  is  .'IS^'  IN'  N.  and  5^^  A2'  W.  from  Wasliinfrton. 
It  contained  in  INOO, (MM)  inhahitants;  ISIO,  1,:}50;  1820,4,012;  IHMO, 
1(),;{.*U»,  |iavin<,Mnore  than  doubled  its  population  within  the  last  10  yours. 

The  j:^roatesl  fall  in  llu;  Ohio  is  just  l)eU)W  this  city.  In  high  stafjos  of 
water,  tlic^  rocks  and  shrdlows  art;  all  covered,  and  boats  pass  without  por- 
ceivin;;-  them.  But  this  stapc  of  water  does  not  occur,  on  an  averajjo, 
more  than  two  months  in  a  year,  renderin;,'  it  necessary  at  all  other  times, 
that  boats  from  the  lower  country  shoidd  stop  here.  The  falls  equally 
arrested  boats  from  above.  (^Jonscqiicntly  freights  intende<l  for  the  coim- 
try  above  were  re(|uircd,  at  a  great  expense  of  time,  delay  and  factorage, 
to  be  unloaded,  transiwrtcd  by  land  round  the  falls,  and  reloaded  in  boats 
above.  Large  steam  boats  from  New  OrUuins,  though  l)clonging  to  tlu^ 
upper  coimtry,  were  obliged  to  lie  by  through  the  summer  at  Portland. 

To  remedy  these  inconveniencies,  the  liOuisville  and  Portland  Canal 
round  the  falls  has  been  completed.  It  oven-omes  the  ascent  of  22  feet 
by  five  locks.  The  first  steam  boat  tliat  passed  through  the  canal,  was 
theUncas,  Dec.  21,  1S20. 

It  is  two  miles  in  length,  and  the  excavation  40  feet  in  depth.  A  part 
of  this  de{)th  is  cut  from  solid  litne  stone.  It  is  on  a  scale  to  admit  steam 
boats  and  vessels  of  the  largest  size.  From  the  nature  of  the  country, 
and  the  great  diirerenc(!  between  the  highest  and  lowest  stage  of  the 
water,  amounting  to  nearly  (tO  feet,  it  is  necessarily  a  work  of  great 
magnitude,  having  cost  mor<!  than  any  other  similar  c'xtent  of  canal  work 


356 


KENTUCKY. 


in  the  United  States.  There  are  various  opinions,  in  reference  to  tlic 
bearing  of  this  work  upon  the  future  prosperity  of  Louisville.  Grcut 
part  of  the  important  and  lucrative  business  of  factornfro  will  be  superseded  • 
and  as  boats  can  ascend  from  Louisville  to  Cincinnati,  with  at  least  as 
great  a  draft  of  water  as  is  allowed  by  the  depth  of  the  water  from 
Louisville  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  most  of  the  boats  from  the  Missis- 
sippi, that  used  to  be  arrested  at  the  falls,  will  pass  on  to  the  country 
above.  But  other  bearings  of  utility  to  this  place,  not  yet  contemplated, 
will  probably  grow  out  of  the  increased  activity,  jiiven  by  the  canal  to 
business  and  commerce.  No  axiom  is  better  established  than  that  every 
part  of  the  country,  so  connected  as  the  whole  coast  of  Ohio,  flourislics 
and  inc^reases  with  the  growth  of  every  other  part.  If  the  country  above 
and  bi6]ow,  be  flourishing,  so  also  will  be  Louisville.  Besides,  this  im- 
portant  town  has  intrinsic  resources,  which  will  not  fail  to  make  it  a  i,Me;ii 
place.  More  steam  boats  are  up  in  New  Orleans  for  it  than  any  other; 
and  except  during  the  season  of  ice,  or  of  extremely  low  water,  there  sel- 
dom elapses  a  week,  without  an  arrival  from  New  Orleans.  Tiie  gun  of 
the  arriving  or  departing  steam  boats  is  heanl  at  every  hour  of  the  day 
and  the  night;  and  no  person  has  an  adequate  idea  of  the  business  and 
bustle  of  Louisville,  until  he  has  arrived  at  the  town.  TJic  country  of 
which  this  town  is  the  county  seat,  is  one  of  the  most  fertile,  and  best 
settled  in  the  state.  The  town  was  formerly  subject  to  freijucnt  attacks 
of  endemic  sickness,  in  the  summer  and  autumn,  owing  to  stagnant 
waters  in  its  vicinity.  The  ponds  and  marshes  have  been  in  a  great 
measure  drained;  and  the  health  of  the  town  has  improved  in  conse- 
quence. It  has  been  for  some  years  nearly  as  healthy  as  any  otlier  town 
in  the  same  latitude  on  the  Ohio. 

It  is  52  miles  north  of  Frankfort;  150  south-west  by  water,  and  140 
by  the  mail  route  from  Cincinnati;  51  west  from  Lexington ;  and  062 
west  from  Washington. 

Maysville,  the  next  town  in  Kentucky,  in  point  of  commercial  import- 
ance, to  Louisville,  is  situated  just  below  the  mouth  of  Lime  Stone 
Creek,  275  miles  by  land,  and  500  by  water,  below  Pittsburgh.  It  has  a 
fine  harbor  for  boats,  and  is  situated  on  a  narrow  bottom  on  the  verge  of  a 
chain  of  high  hills.  There  are  three  streets  running  parallel  with 
the  river ;  and  four  streets  crossing  them  at  right  angles.  The  houses 
are  about  500  in  number;  and  the  inliabitants  about 4,000.  This  place 
has  the  usual  number  of  stores  and  manufactories.  Glass  and  some  other 
articles  are  manufactured  to  a  considerable  extent.  It  has  a  market  house, 
court  house,  three  houses  for  public  worship,  and  some  other  public 
buildings.  What  has  given  particular  importance  to  Maysville,  is  its 
being  the  principal  place  of  importation  for  the  north-east  part  of  the  state. 


KENTUCKY. 


357 


The  greater  part  of  the  goods  for  Kentucky  from  Philadelphia  and  tho 
eastern  cities,  are  landed  here,  and  distributed  hence  over  the  stale.  It 
is  a  thriving',  active  town,  and  a  number  of  steam  boats  have  been  built 

here.  - 

Washington,  three  miles  sotith  of  this  place,  is  a  considerable  villa/ere, 
in  the  centre  of  ii  fertile  and  well  peopled  country.  It  has  three  par- 
allel streets,  two  houses  for  public  worship,  a  court  house,  jail,  two  semi- 
naries of  learning  a  post  and  printing  ollice,  the  customary  stores  and 
mechanic  shops,  and  a  branch  of  the  Kentucky  bank. 

Paris,  tho  chief  town  of  Bourl)on  county,  is  situated  on  a  fine  hill,  on 

Stoiicr  fork  of  Licking  river,  at  the  mouth  of  Houston  creek.     There 

are  a  number  of  important  manufactures  here.     Some  of  the  houses  have 

the  appearance  of  magnificence.    It  is  central  to  a  delightful  and  populous 

coimtiy,  an  lis  entirely  an  interior  town,  twenty  miles  east  of  Lexington, 

(50  milts  south-east  of  Newport,  opposite  Cincinnati,  and  in  north  latitude 

oS°  lb'.    The  scenery  of  no  place  in  the  western  country  surpasses  that 

on  tlic  road  between  this  place  and  Lexington.  "^ 

Georgetown,  the  county  town  of  Scott  county,  is  surrounded  by  that 

fine  and  rich  country  in  the  centre  of  this  state,  of  which  travellers  have 

spoken  in  terms  of  so  much  praise.     Royal  spring,  a  branch  of  Elkhorn, 

runs  through  the  town.     It  has  a  number  of  considerable  manufacturing 

establishments,  genteel  houses,  and  some  public  buildings,  among  them 

a  church,  printii^g  ofiice,  post  ofiice,  and  rope  walk.    It  is  fourteen  miles 

north  of  Lexington,  on  the  road  to  Cincinnati.  ^ ' 

Harrodsburg  is  a  pretty  village  on  both  sides  of  Salt  River,  which  turns 
a  number  of  miles.  It  contains  ninety  houses,  with  the  customary  stores, 
a  church  and  post  oflSce.  Danville,  thirty-three  miles  south-west  from 
Lexington,  is  an  important  village,  containing  between  2  and  300  houses, 
and  all  the  usual  appendages  of  a  town  of  that  size.  Stamford,  10  miles 
south-east  from  Danville,  contains  120  houses.  Somerset,  twelve  miles 
south-east  of  Stamford,  contains  nearly  100  houses.  Monticello,  be- 
tween Cumberland  River  and  the  state  of  Tennessee,  situated  on  a  ridge 
of  hills,  contains  something  more  than  sixty  houses;  and  is  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  noted  nitre  caves.     Lead  ore  has  been  found  in  its  vicinity. 

Versailles,  the  chief  town  of  Woodford  county,  contains  over  100  houses, 
and  is  situated  on  a  creek,  which  discharges  into  the  Kentucky  River. 
It  is  thirteen  miles  south-west  from  Lexington,  and  surrounded  by  the 
same  beautiful  country,  which  is  adjacent  to  that  place.  Shelbyville,  on 
Brasheare's  creek,  twelve  miles  above  its  junction  with  Salt  River,  is  a 
considerable  village.  Augusta,  twenty-four  miles  below  Maysville  on 
the  Ohio,  has  80  houses,  and  900  inhabitants.  Augusta  College  is  a 
seminary  of  rising  importance,  under  the  care  of  the  Methodist  Church. 


S5N 


KENTUCKY. 


Thccolloiro  hnilclinrrs  rnnsist  of  ono  Ri>firio»ifl  odifico,  HO  foot  by  40,  nnd 
two  Imardinp;  ImiiPca.  ft  has  an  avornijc  of  l.'J7  sttulcnff.  Tim  villiiijo  in 
ploasnnf  niid  imcommonly  hcnllliy.  Tho  president  1ms  drsorvod  rn[)ufn- 
lioii,nnd  this  inafifiition  promisrs  prcat  utility  lothocommiiiiity. 

Newport,  o]>p(!sifo  to  rinoinnati,  is  tho  county  town  for  CamplKll 
cotinty,  nnd  is  sitiiatrd  at  tho  month  of  Lickinfj.  It  has  a  rJiarmiinf 
prospect  of  Cincinnati,  and  the  snrronndin<^  cojintry,  and  from  tlmt 
town,  seems  a  pleasure  ground  dotted  with  houses.  Few  places  can  sliow 
more  plcasinrf  scenery.  It  has  a  spacious  arsenal,  containing  arms,  and 
munitions  of  war  for  tho  United  States,  and  some  other  puhlic  l)uil(lin<,'>', 
jail,  market  house,  post  oflicc,  school  house,  and  nn  academy.  Ba<fffin;:, 
cordage,  nnd  tobacco  arc  manufutured  hero. 

Covington,  situated  below  Newport,  nnd  on  tho  opposite  side  of 
Licking,  is  laid  out  with  great  regularity.  The  streets  arc  intended  to 
be  continuations  of  those  of  Cincinnati.  Liberal  donations  are  made 
for  tho  erection  of  public  buildings.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  benuty  ofa 
panoramic  view  of  these  towns,  from  the  hills  north  of  Cincinnati.  Tim 
Ohio,  in  the  distance,  seems  but  a  rivulet,  and  these  towns  are  so  con- 
nccted  by  the  eye,  as  to  seem  to  make  a  part  of  Cincinnati.  Tlicso 
places  of  course  arc  connected  with  Cincinnati  in  business;  and  only 
want  a  bridge  across  tho  Ohio,  or  a  tunnel  under  it,  actually  to  make  a 
part  of  Cincinnati.  In  this  place  arc  respectable  manufacturing  cstal)- 
lishmonts,  particularly  of  cotton. 

Cynthinna,  the  county  town  for  Harrison  county,  stands  on  the  north- 
east bank  of  the  south  fork  of  Licking,  twenty-six  miles  north-cast  from 
Lexington,  and  thirty-four  in  the  same  direction  from  Frankfort.  It  con- 
tains more  than  100  houses;  and  n  number  of  respectable  public  buildings. 
It  is  on  a  wide  and  fertile  bottom,  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  and  populous 
settlement.     There  are  a  great  number  of  water  mills  near  the  town. 

Port  William  the  county  town  of  Gallatin  county,  stands  on  the  right 
shore  of  the  Kentucky,  a  little  above  its  entrance  into  the  Ohio.  It 
contains  sixty  or  seventy  houses.  But  although  its  position  is  fine,  at 
the  outlet  of  this  noble  river,  and  adjacent  to  a  charming  country,  it  lias 
not  flourished  according  to  the  expectations  of  its  inhabitants.  This  may 
Ikj  owing  to  the  circumstance,  that  the  Delta  on  which  it  is  situated,  has 
been  sometimes  inundated. 

Russellvillc,  the  county  town  of  Logan  county,  is  an  interior  town, 
intermediate  between  Green  and  Cumberland  Rivers;  and  thirty-five  miles 
distant  from  each.  It  contains  a  seminary,  denominated  a  college;  and  a 
number  of  respectable  public  building.s,  together  with  1(>0  private  houses. 
It  is  IHO  miles  srjuth-west  from  Frankfort,  and  thirty-five  south  of 
Louisville.     It  is  in  the  vicinity  of  the  extensive  prairies  and  barrens, 


^^ 


KENTI/CKV. 


8611 


that  a|)|>oiir  in  tlii:^  liurl  of  tho  country.     Hull  licks  alMXind  uuur  the  town. 
Many  oi'  tlio  iul|iic.oiit  prairies  arc  ol"  <»rt;:H  l)canly. 

'I'liiMi!  are  (orty  or  fifty  inure  cuiisitliiiiiWIt)  villii^nis  in  this  Htate,  all 
iiulii'aled  in  llie  tai)iilar  view  of  llu;  comity  towns  of  this  state.     It  would 
|)t'  1)111  tiresome  lepelition  to  destrihu  llieiii  with  any  (le;,freo  of  particularity. 
Tlie  names  of  the  priMci[Hil  ones  follow,  together  with  the  rivers  on  which 
tiicy  are  situated.    Catletshurg,  at  the  outlet  of  Bi^'  Sandy.     Clarkshur^, 
itii  tlie   Ohio,   furty-ei;,'ht  miles   helow    Callctshur^'.      Yellow    Banks, 
Henderson,  Morganfield,  and  Smithland,  arc  on  tho  Ohio,  heluw  Louis- 
villc.     'I'lio  liist  named  town  is  at  the  mouth  of  Cumherland  River. 
Columbia  is  on  the  south  hank  of  the  Mississippi,  eleven  miles  below  tho 
luoiilh  of  the  Ohio.     Prestonbury  is  on  the  west  brunch  of  Bi;?  Sundy, 
near  the  Cumherland  mountains.    Tho  following'  towns  arc  on  Liekiii«^: 
Ulynii>ian  Sprinys,  Mount  titcrlini,',  Millcrsburg,  Maryavillc,  and  Fal- 
mouth. On  the  Kentucky  and  its  waters,  besides  those  already  enuiiierated, 
are    Mount    Vernon,    Stamford,    Lancaster,    lliclunond,    Winchester, 
Nicliolasville,  llarrodshurg  and  Laurenshuifj.      On  Salt  River  and  itd 
waters,  are  S|)ring(iehl,  Bealsburg,  Shelhyvillc,  Middlctown,  and  Shep- 
herdsvillc.     Bardstown  is  an  iin|)ortant  village,  with  a  beautiful  view  of 
adjacent  hills,  and   mountains.     On   Green  River  and  its   waters,  arc 
Cascyvillc,  Columbia,    Greenshurg,   Summersvillc,  Monroe,  Glasgow, 
Scottsville,    Bowling    Green,    Mnrgantown,    Litchfield    Ilardensburg, 
Hartford,  Greenville,  and  Madisonville.    On  Cumberland  Riv^r,  Bar- 
hoursvillc,  Burkville,  Ilopkinsville,  Princeton,  and  Ccntrevillo.     Some  of 
these  villages  have  churches.     Sonic  of  them  are  county  towns;  and  in  a 
country,  where  the  whole  scene  is  shifting  under  the  eye  of  the  beholder; 
some  of  them,  no  doubt,  arc  more  important,  than  sonic  of  those,  which 
wc  have  particularly  noticed  in  descrii)tion.     Other  villages  may  have 
Ijccomc  important,   that  have  not  yet  been  described;    and    there  arc 
villages  deemed  of  consequence,  at  least,  in   their  imnicdiate  vicinity, 
which  are  not  hero  named. 

Education.  Beside  the  colloi^i;iate  institutions  already  mentioned,  there 
is  Georgetown  College,  a  Baptist  S(!iiiin;iry  recently  commenced  at 
Georgetown,  and  Cumberland  College  at  Priiicctown.  This  is  an  insti- 
tution for  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians;  the  students,  on  an  average, 
are  \2{).  It  is  respectable  for  its  library  and  endowments,  anil  adopts  the 
manual  labor  system.  Centre  College  at  Uanville,  is  uniler  the  care  of 
the  Presbyterian  church.  Its  buildings  and  endowments,  are  alreaily 
ample, and  are  increasing.     It  promises  to  become  an  important  inslilution. 

In  tho  pleasant  village  of  Bardstown,  is  a  highly  resiHiclablc  Catholic 
Seminary,  being  the  most  importuni  one  which  thai  church  possesses  in 
the  western  country.    One  object  of  this  inbtitution  is  to  huvc  theological 


,1 


360 


KENTirCKV. 


Btuflents  for  tlio  Catliolic  ministry.  In  tho  collc^'o  nnd  llicolo^Mcal  hcIkk,! 
are  230  students.  A  number  of  persons  of  both  soxos,  nnd  the  ilillcrint 
religious  orders  of  that  churrb,  reside;  licro,  and  are  devoted  to  tciuliin.r 
and  nets  of  chiirity. 

There  arc  other  seminaries,  tho  names  and  positions  of  which  wcliuvo 
not  been  able  to  obtain.  Hut  wo  give  instead  a  nu  st  important  dnciinienf, 
touching  the  state  of  jj[cncrai  education  in  Kentucky.  We  rcjjrct  that  it 
is  tho  only  one  fiirnisliol  by  tho  census  of  1S3(),  of  sullicient  accuracy 
and  universaHty  to  (pialify  it  for  admission  tf)  this  work.  It  may  stand  in 
some  degree,  ns  a  sample  of  the  condition  of  general  education  in  the 
states,  where  free  schools  are  not  yet  adopted.  The  system  has  one 
obvious  advantage  over  that  of  New  England.  The  teachers,  f(jr  the  most 
part,  are  trained  to  their  jjrofession,  and  consider  it  not  un  incidental  but 
a  perpetual  pursuit.  They  ac(piire  an  experience,  tident  of  govcriunciit, 
and  power  of  self  possession,  which  cannot  be  expected  from  those  wiio 
adopt  tho  profession  only  vi?  an  expedient,  and  for  a  season.  It  dillbrs  in 
another  respect  from  that  of  New-England.  There  tho  greater  nunihcr 
of  pupils  attend  school  in  winter;  and  here  in  the  summer. 


Nama  of  County. 

Number 

Children 

No.  in  cii 

>  Numlicr 

Avcrngc 

Population  of  each 

of 

at 

lietwee 

not  nt 

size  of 

County. 

BchoolB. 

School. 

2!'2 

5  and  IS 
1820 

School. 

1528 

Sdioolo. 

22 

Adair, 

13 

Allen, 

12 

2^6 

1642 

1356 

24 

Anderson, 

9 

302 

946 

611 

38 

Barren, 

24 

(J44 

3222 

2578 

27 

Bath, 

If) 

453 

2002 

1549 

30 

Boone, 

19 

599 

1955 

1356 

31 

Bourbon, 

48 

1246 

3019 

1773 

26 

Bracken, 

12 

325 

1587 

12(52 

27 

Brackenridge, 

16 

400 

1715 

1315 

25 

Bullitt, 

Butler, 

7 

1.58 

768 

610 

22 

Calloway, 

11 

215 

1382 

1137 

Campbell, 

17 

<ir)3 

2C10 

2165 

21 

Casey, 

6 

12(5 

115  J 

1023 

21 

Caldwell, 

16 

4.53 

1833 

1380 

28 

Christian, 

20 

024 

2334 

1710 

31 

Clarke, 

21 

810 

2423 

1613 

40 

Clay, 

3 

51 

959 

908 

17 

Cumberland, 

9 

241 

2005 

1764 

27 

Daviess, 

9 

229 

1069 

840 

25 

Edmondson, 

2 

62 

727 

665 

31 

Estill, 

Fayette,* 

*39 

1122 

2925 

1803 

2d 

. 

Fleming, 

28 

870 

3870 

3000 

31 

Floyd, 

6 

151 

1307 

1156 

25 

Franklin, 

16 

485 

1629 

1144 

30 

*  Out  uf  Lcxiujg'tuii. 

'i:'*^ 


KCNTI'CKy* 


361 


^  Niiiiio  "I*  <;ouiiiy. 


(iullatin, 

(iarrard, 

(imiit, 

(ImvPH, 

(irnyson, 

(irceiio, 

Grcciiui), 

Huncock, 

Hardin, 

Harlan, 

Harrison, 

Hart, 

Ifcndcrson, 

Henry, 

Hickman, 

Hopkins, 

Jefferson , 

Jessamine, 

Knox, 

Laurel, 

Lawrence, 

Lewis, 

Lincoln, 

Livingston, 

liOgan, 

Mason, 

Madison, 

Mercer, 

Meade, 

McCrackcn, 

Monroe, 

Montgomery, 

Morgan, 

Muiilenburgh, 

iNclsoii, 

Xicholas, 

Ohio, 

Oldham, 

Owen, 

Pendleton, 

Peny, 

Pike, 

Pulaski, 

Rockcastle, 

Russell, 

Scott, 

Shelby, 

Simpson, 

Spencer, 


Number 
of 

HchoolN. 


It 

9 
4 
8 
14 
\) 

a 

3 
24 

u 
12 

53 

5 

13 

IS 
4 
2 
9 
9 

24 

10 
39 
33 

8 

39 

7 

15 

00 

12 

23 

16 

7 

17 

12 

8 

3 

3 

23 

7 

1 

18 

43 

12 

12 


Children 
nt 

Hrhool, 


Jfo. In  rolNiiiiific r 

lut  nt 

Hrhool. 


Ix'twcnn 
riiiiiil  iril 


AvrroBfl 

Ki/o  of 

Brhootx. 


)'o|iulatlun  ut  I'Hr.li 
t'unnly, 


''i59 
2)H« 
102 
252 
329 
270 

8(: 

093 
('»4 
835 
155 
243 

i'm 

127 
200 

520 
113 
41 
179 
242 
537 

3iK) 
1180 
1054 

22(J 

1043 

252 

551 

000 

258 

807 

012 

168 

446 

299 

318 

52 

53 

589 

145 

28 

690 

1125 

3931 

282 


1(18 

1221 

2M 

23fU 

1H12 

23 

816 

520 

33 

(H5 

543 

25 

1080 

828 

31 

2358 

2529 

23 

1541 

1271 

30 

327 

241 

29 

3231 

2541 

30 

841 

777 

21 

3000 

2165 

34 

1372 

1217 

26 

1153 

910 

20 

2521 

1915 

26 

12f)9 

1142 

25 

1587 

1327 

20 

1789 

1269 

29 

1104 

991 

28 

582 

541 

20 

1124 

945 

19 

1365 

1123 

27 

2028 

1491 

22 

2331 

1941 

23 

3080 

1900 

30 

3446 

2392 

32 

896 

640 

32 

3441 

2398 

28 

1483 

1231 

36 

2146 

1595 

36 

893 

893 

1248 

990 

21 

2873 

2066 

85 

2180 

1568 

38 

1121 

953 

24 

1984 

1538 

26 

1468 

1169 

25 

1026 

708 

39 

992 

940 

17 

785 

732 

17 

2438 

1879 

25 

784 

639 

21 

926 

898 

28 

2525 

1835 

38 

3704 

2579 

26 

1418 

1025 

33 

1544 

1262 

23 

46 


362 


"Name  of  County. 


KENTUCKY. 


Trigg, 

Union, 

Warren, 

Washington, 

Wayne, 

Whitely, 

W^oodford, 


Number 

of 
Schools. 


N'o.iu  co_ 
between 
5  and  15 


Number 
not  at 

School. 


Average 
size  of 
Pchoold, 


Population  of  each 
County. 


16 

363 

1471 

UOS 

22 

13 

318 

1294 

976 

24 

8 

252 

923 

691 

31 

13 

405 

2291 

1886 

31 

34 

907 

4119 

3212 

26 

9 

307 

2350 

2043 

34 

7 

195 

1086 

891 

28 

23 

666 

1812 

1146 

29 

Total, 

11311  318341 1391421 107328| 

Nanfjc  of  County. 

Ain't.  ?(0K7   Average 

Cost  of  educa- 

Average in. 

Pay  of  Teachers 

paid  for 

price  of 

ting;  all  at 

come  of      E 

uppoBing40pupiii 

education. 

tuition. 

this  rate. 

Teachers. 

to  a  School. 

Adair, 

2259 

$7  75cts. 

$14105 

$173 

$310 

Allen, 

2178 

7  50 

10170 

181 

300 

Anderson, 

2480 

8  20 

7757 

275 

328 

Barren, 

5608 

8  40 

27064 

275 

336 

Bath, 

3281 

7  25 

14514 

219 

290 

Boone, 

5136 

8  57 

16754 

270 

342 

Bourbon, 

12134 

9  73 

29377 

253 

389 

Bracken. 

2360 

7  25 

11505 

197 

290 

Brackenridge, 

3452 

8  63 

14800 

216 

345 

Bullitt, 

•Butler, 

1289 

S  15 

6259 

184 

326 

Callow  /ay, 

2084 

8  51 

11760 

190 

340 

Campbell, 

3188 

7  03 

18390 

187 

281 

Casey, 

872 

6  92 

7985 

145 

276 

Caldwell, 

4276 

9  46 

17330 

267 

378 

Christian, 

6093 

9  76 

22779 

304 

390 

Clarke, 

6383 

7  88 

19093 

304 

315 

Clay, 

540 

10  59 

10155 

120 

423 

Cumberland, 

2044 

8  48 

17002 

227 

339 

Daviess, 

2140 

9  34 

9984 

238 

373 

Edmondson, 

744 

12  00 

8724 

372 

480 

Est'll, 

Fayette, 

11467 

10  22 

29893 

300 

408 

Fleming, 

6192 

7  12 

27554 

221 

284 

Floyd, 

1208 

8  00 

10456 

201 

320 

Franklin, 

4632 

9  5(J 

15573 

289 

382 

Gallatin, 

3167 

8  03 

12992 

226 

321 

Garrard,. 

3945 

8  59 

19765 

197 

353 

Grant, 

2105 

7  11 

5801 

234 

284 

Graves, 

1020 

10  00 

()450 

255 

400 

Grayson, 

2140 

8  49 

9169 

267 

339 

Greene, 

3314 

10  07 

28780 

237 

402 

Greenup, 

2418 

8  95 

13791 

268 

352 

Hancock, 

814 

9  46 

3093 

271 

37H 

Hardin, 

6372 

9  19 

29720 

277 

367 

Population'of  each 
County. 


Fay  of  Teachers 

supposing  40  pupiij 

to  a  School. 


KLNTUCKV. 

369 

Same  of  County. 

Am't.  now      Average 

Cost  of  L'Uunit- 

Average 

l':ty  of  Teachera, 

paid  for        price  of 

ing  all  ut  tliis) 

income  of 

supposing  40  pupils 

education.        tuition. 

riite. 

Teactiers. 

to  u  School. 

Harlan, 

$(J42 

,<^10  (Kics 

$8435 

$214 

$401 

Harrison, 

7373 

'  8  82 

264(50 

307 

352 

Hart, 

1381 

8  90 

12210 

230 

356 

Henderson, 

2S9() 

11  09 

12786 

241 

443 

Henry, 

4557 

7  51 

18932 

198 

300 

J  1 

Hickman, 

1112 

8  75 

11103 

222 

350 

Hopkins, 

2240 

8  62 

13679 

172 

344 

Jefl'erson, 

Jessamine, 

4416 

8  49 

15188 

452 

339 

Knox, 

1038 

9  18 

10134 

259 

367 

Laurel, 

328 

8  00 

4656 

164 

320 

Lawrence, 

1346 

7  52 

8452 

149 

300 

Lewis, 

1686 

6  97 

9515 

187 

278 

Lincoln, 

4896 

9  11 

18475 

203 

364 

Livingston, 

Logan, 

5046 

12  91 

30093 

315 

516 

Mason, 

11G89 

9  57 

29475 

284 

382 

Madison, 

8197 

7  77 

26775 

310 

McCracken, 

248 

Meade, 

1984 

7  75 

6944 

248 

810 

Mercer, 

9737 

9  33 

32V  1 

250 

373 

Monroe, 

1976 

7  84 

11626 

282 

313 

Montgomery, 

4251 

7  71 

16545 

283 

308 

]\Iorgan, 

Muhienbmgh, 

1900 

7  36 

9185 

156 

294 

Nelson, 

8320 

10  31 

29610 

362 

412 

Nicholas, 

4435 

7  26 

15826 

277 

290 

Ohio, 

1485 

8  84 

9909 

212 

353 

Oldham, 

3689 

8  27 

16407 

217 

330 

Owen, 

2108 

7  05 

10348 

175 

282 

Pendleton, 

2379 

7  48 

7674 

297 

299 

Perry, 

498 

9  58 

9503 

162 

383 

Pike, 

464 

8  75 

6868 

155 

350 

Pulaski, 

4038 

6  74 

16432 

175 

269 

Rock  Castle, 

1200 

8  28 

6491 

177 

331 

Russf  il, 

224 

8  00 

7408 

224 

320 

Scott, 

7288 

10  56 

26664 

404 

422 

Shelby, 

8852 

7  86 

29113 

206 

314 

Simpson, 

3613 

9  19 

13031 

301 

367 

Spencer, 

2176 

7  71 

11904 

181 

308 

Todd, 

3724 

10  25 

15077 

233 

410 

Trigg, 

3053 

9  81 

12694 

228 

392 

Union, 

2470 

9  80 

9045 

308 

392 

Warren, 

3112 

7  68 

17594 

239 

307 

Washington, 

8551 

9  42 

38800 

251 

376 

Wayne, 

2650 

8  63 

20380 

294 

345 

Whitely, 

1433 

7  35 

7882 

204 

294 

Woodford, 

7378 

11  08 

20036 

321 

443 

!«( 


m 


\  Hi 


4 


Total,         278592 


1200052 


■P: 


364 


KENTUCKY. 


1^ 


Curiosities,  dfc.  Among  the  antiquities  of  this  state  are  great  numbers 
of  those  Indian  mounds,  that  are  found  over  all  the  western  countrv. 
When  this  country  was  first  discovered,  great  numbers  of  human  bodies 
in  a  state  of  entire  preservation  were  found  in  a  cave  near  Lexington.  The 
pioneers  of  the  settlements  in  this  country  did  not  attach  much  conse- 
quence to  skeletons ;  and  none  of  them  remain.  The  bodies  that  were  found 
inthe  Saltpetre  cave,  have  been  examined  by  thousands.  They  were 
considerably  smaller  than  the  men  of  our  times.  The  teeth  and  nails  did 
not  seem  to  intimate  the  shrinking  of  the  flesh  from  them,  in  the  desic- 
cating process,  by  which  they  had  been  preserved.  The  teeth  were 
separated  by  considerable  intervals;  and  were  long,  white,  and  sharp. 

In  an  ancient  mound  on  Caney  Fork  of  Cumberland  River,  four  feet 
below  the  surface,  a  vessel  was  found,  of  which  it  would  be  difficult  to 
convey  an  adequate  idea,  without  an  engraving.  It  consisted  of  three 
heads,  joined  together  at  the  back  part  of  them  near  the  top,  by  a  stem,  or 
handle,  which  rises  above  the  heads  about  three  inches.  The  stem  is 
hollow,  six  inches  in  circumference  at  the  top,  increasing  in  size,  as  it 
descends.  These  heads  are  all  of  the  same  dimensions,  being  about  four 
inches  from  the  apex  to  the  chin.  The  face  at  the  eyes  is  three  inches 
broad,  decreasing  in  breadth  all  the  way  to  the  chin.  Most  persons  have 
supposed,  that  they  are  fac  similes  of  the  Tartar  countenance.  They  do 
not  so  strike  us.  Neither  does  their  model  appear  to  have  been  any  thing 
like  the  present  Indian  countenance.  The  faces  are  remarkable  for  their 
fullness,  and  evince  no  inconsiderable  skill  in  the  moulder.  It  is  of  the 
common  earthen  fabric,  of  the  pottery  generally  found  about  the  mounds. 

In  another  mound,  within  twenty  miles  of  Lexingtor,  were  found  nine 
very  large  and  beautiful  marine  shells  of  the  murej*  class,  and  perfectly 
similar  in  '.hv3ir  general  contour  to  those,  called  conch  shells.  They  have 
all  the  freshness  of  those  found  on  the  shores  of  the  sea.  This  state,  like 
Tennessee,  abounds  in  lime  stone  caves,  of  an  extent  and  grandeur,  to 
which  the  famous  cave  at  Antiparos  will  hold  no  comparison. 

There  are  numberless  caves,  sinks  and  precipices,  that  in  any  other 
country  would  be  regarded,  as  curiosities.  They  are  sources  of  wealth 
in  many  instances  to  their  proprietors.  No  earth,  in  any  country  has 
been  found  more  strongly  impregnated  with  nitre.  It  is  affirmed,  that  fifty 
pounds  of  crude  nitre  have  been  extracted  from  an  hundred  pounds  of  the 
earth.  During  the  late  war,  400,000  pounds  a  year  were  manufactured 
from  this  earth  in  this  state ;  and  probably  as  great  an  amount  of  gun 
powder.  Wo  have  already  mentioned,  as  striking  curiosities,  the  prodigious 
depths,  in  which  many  of  the  rivers  in  this  state  run,  which  are  wo:ii 
through  strata  of  solid  lime  stone.  The  caves,  the  sink  holes,  the  gulfs, 
and  the  deeply  excavated  beds  of  the  r*  jrs,  affiard  a  continual  source  "f 


KENTUCKY. 


865 


curiosity  and  astonishment  to  travellers,  who  are  not  thoroughly  used  to 
this  country. 

Character^  Manners,  Sfc.     The  people  of  this  state  have  a  character 
as  strongly  marked  by  nationality,  as  those  of  any  state  of  the  union.     It 
is  a  character  extremely  difficult  to  describe,  although  all  the  shades  of 
it  are  strongly  marked  to  the  eye  of  a  person,  who  has  been  long  acquainted 
with  them.     They  are  not  only  unique  in  their  manners,  but  in  their 
origin.    They  are  scions  from  a  noble  stock,  the  descendants  from  affluent 
and  respectable  planters  from  Vir,<i;inif»  and  North  Carolina.     They  are  in 
that  condition  in  life,  which  is,  perhaps,  best  calculated  to  develope  high 
mindedncss  and  self  respect.     They  have  a  distinct  and  striking  moral 
physiognomy,  an  enthusiasm,  a  vivacity  and  ardor  of  chnracter,  courage, 
frankness  and  generosity    that  have  been  developed  with  the  peculiar 
circumstances,  under  which  they  have  been  placed.     They  have  a  delight- 
ful frankness   of  hospitality,    which    renders   a  sojourn   among    them 
exceedingly  pleasant  to  a  stranger.     Their  language,  the  very  amusing 
dialect  of  the  common  people,  their  opinions  and  modes  of  thinking,  from 
various  circumstances,  have  been  very  extensively  communicated,  and 
impressed  upon  the  general  character  of  the  people  of  the  West.     Their 
bravery  has  been  evinced  in  field  and  forest  from  Louisiana  to  Canada. 
Their  enthusiasm  of  character  is  very  observable,  in  the  ardor  with  which 
all  classes  of  people  express  themselves,  in  reference  to  their  favorite 
views  and  opinions.     All  their  feelings  tend  to  extremes.    It  is  not  alto- 
gether in  burlesque,  that  they  are  described  as  boastful,  and  accustomed 
to  assume  to  themselves  the  pride  of  having  the  best  horse,  dog,  gun,  wife, 
statesmen,  and  country.     Their  fearless  ardor  and  frankness  and  self- 
confidence,  become  to  their  young  men,  in  other  parts  of  the  West,  in 
competition  for  place  and  precedence  as  a  good  star.     When  a  Kentuck- 
ian  presents  himself  in  another  state,  as  a  candidate  for  an  office,  in  com- 
petition with  a  candidate  from  another  state,  other  circumstances  being 
equal,  the  Kentuckian  carries  it. — Wherever  the  Kentuckian  travels  he 
earnestly  and  affectionately  remembers  his  native  hills  and  plains     His 
thoughts  as  incessantly  turn  towards  home,  as  those  of  the  Swiss.     He 
invokes  the  genius  of  his  country  in  trouble,  danger,  and  solitude.     It  is 
to  him  the  home  of  plenty,  beauty,  greatness  and  every  thing  that  he  de- 
sires, or  respects.     This  nationality  never  deserts  him.     No  country  will 
bear  a  comparison  with  his  country;  no  people  with  his  people.    The 
English  are  said  to  go  into  battle  with  a  song  about  roast  beef  in  their 
mouths.    When  the  Kentuckian   encounters  dangers  of  battle,  or  any 
kind,  when  he  is  even  on  board  a  foundering  ship,  his  last  exclamation  is, 
■'  hurrah  for  old  Kentucky.' 


p:iil 


-»J*. 


:J6o 


KENTUCKY. 


.-;>. 


Religion.  The  prevailing  denominations  are  baptists,  presbyterians,  metli 
(;)dists,Cunnberland  presbyterians  and  seceders.  The  people  manifest  their 
excitable  and  ardent  character  upon  this  as  upon  all  other  subjects.  Tjiev 
have  an  insatiable  curiosity  to  hear  new  preachers,  and  an  extreme  eancr* 
ness  for  novelty.  Religious  excitements  are  common,  and  carried  to  the 
highest  point  of  emotion.  Religion,  in  some  form,  seems  to  be  generally 
respected;  and  there  is  scarcely  a  village,  or  a  populous  settlement  in  the 
state,  that  has  not  one,  or  more,  favorite  preachers.  It  would  be  difll-ult 
to  say,  which  is  the  predominant  denomination,  that  of  the  baptists,  meth- 
odists,or  presbyterians.  But  notwithstanding  the  marked  enthusiasm  of 
the  character  of  this  people,  notwithstanding  they  are  much  addicted  to 
bitter  political  disputation,  notwithstanding  all  the  collisions  from  op- 
posing parties  and  clans,  as  a  state,  the  people  have  uniformly  distinguish- 
ed themselves  for  religious  order,  quiet  and  tolerance. 

Constitution,  Governmei:f.  6fc.  The  iej^islative  power  is  divided  as 
usual.  The  senators  are  elected  for  four  years  and  the  representatives  for 
one.  A  person  to  be  eligible  as  a  senator,  must  be  thirty-five  years  of 
age,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  must  have  reside '.  six  years  in  Iho 
state,  and  one  year  in  the  district  for  which  he  is  chosen.  A  representa- 
tive must  be  twenty-four  vears  of  age,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
must  have  resided  in  the  state  two  years,  and  in  the  district  one.  The 
governer  is  elected  for  four  years,  and  is  eligible  four  years  out  of  eleven. 
He  must  be  thirty  years  of  age,  a  citizen  of  the  Unitet'  States,  and  must 
have  resided  in  the  state  two  years,  and  in  the  district  one.  Jle  has?. 
qualified  negative  upon  the  proceedings  of  the  assembly,  has  a  pardoning 
power,  and  makes  appointments  with  the  consent  of  the  senate.  The 
judiciary  consists  in  a  supreme  court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the 
assembly  may  appoint,  and  the  judges  retain  their  oflSces  during  good 
behaviour.  Every  free  white  male  citizen  of  the  age  of  twenty-one, 
who  has  resided  in  the  state  two  years,  or  one  year  in  the  distrct  is 
entitled  to  the  elective  franchise. 


INDIANA. 


is  divided  as 
esentativesfor 
-five  years  of 

yp-ars  in  iho 
A  i'epresenta- 
Jnited   States, 
ct  one.     The 
out  of  eleven. 
ites,and  must 
le.     Jle  has  a 
sa  pardonintr 
senate.     The 
courts  as  the 
during  good 
f  twenty-one, 
the  distrct  is 


Length,  250,  Breadth,  150  miles.  Between  37°  47'  and  4F 
50'  N.  latitude,  and  7°  45'  and  IP  W.  longitude.  Bounded  north  by 
Michigan  Territory  and  lake.  West  by  the  state  of  Illinois.  South  by 
the  Ohio,  which  divides  it  from  Kentucky ;  East  by  the  state  of  Ohio. 

CIVIL   DIVISIONS. 


Counties. 
Allen, 

Bartholomew, 
Boone, 
Carroll, 
Cass, 
Clark, 
Clay, 
Clinton, 
Crawford"^ 
Daviess, 
Dearborn, 
Delaware, 
Decatur, 
Dubois, 
Elkhart, 
Fayette, 
Floyd, 
Fountain, 
Franklin, 
Gibson, 
Greene, 
Grant, 


Chief  Totcns. 
Port  Wayne, 
Columbus, 

Delphi, 
Logansport, 
Charlestown, 
Bowling  Green ^ 

Fredonia, 

W  ashington, 

Lawrcnceburgh, 

Greensburgh, 
Barbersville, 

Connersville, 

New  Albany, 

Covington, 

Brookville, 

Princeton, 

Bloomfield, 


»iS 


^. 


""^■" 


368 


INDIANA. 


m 


'}> 


m^ 


!&• 


Ifancock, 

Harrison, 

Henry, 

HendrickSy, 

Jackson, 

Jefferson,. 

Jennings, 

Johnson, 

Knox, 

Lawrence,^ 

Madison, 

Marion, 

Martin, 

Monroe, 

Montgomery, 

Morgan, 

Orange, 

Owen, 

Parke, 

Perry,. 

Pike, 

Posey, 

Putnam,. 

Randolph, 

Ripley, 

Rush, 

Scott, 

Shelby, 

Spencer, 

St,  Joseph, 

Sullivan, 

Switzerland, 

Tippicanoe, 

Unonj 

Vanderburgh, 

Vermillion, 

Vigo, 

Wabash, 

Warren, 

Warrich, 

Washington, 

Wayne. 


Noblesville, 

Cory  don. 

New  Castle, 

Danville, 

Brownstown, 

Madison, 

Vernon, 

Franklin, 

Vincennes, 

Bedford, 

Andersontown^ 

Indianapolis, 

Mount  Pleasant, 

Bloomington, 

Crawfordsviile, 

Martinsville, 

Pavli, 

Spencer, 

Rockville, 

Rome, 

Petersburgli, 

Mt.  Vernon  &i.  Harmony, 

Green  Castle, 

Winchester, 

Versailles, 

Rushville, 

Lexington, 

Shelbyville, 

Rockport, 

Merom, 
Vevay, 
Lafayette, 
Liberty, 
Evansville, 
Newport, 
Terrehaule, 


Booneville, 
Salem, 
CentreviUe  &l  Richmond. 


--■  --■■^  -■^ 


INDIANA. 


3C9 


The  whole  of  this  state  belongs  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  or  lake 
Michigan.  It  is  the  first  of  the  states,  in  advancing  from  the  west,  east, 
and  north,  where  nature  seems  to  have  divided  the  surface  between  prairie 
and  wood  land.  The  greater  proportion  of  this  state  is  a  timbered 
country.  Here,  too,  we  first  find  the  number  and  manners  of  northern 
people  predominating  among  the  immigrants.  Here  we  first  discover,  in 
most  places,  a  clear  ascendency  of  New  England  dialect,  manners,  and 
population.  Here,  too,  we  note  the  natural  tendency  of  this  order  of 
things,  and  this  class  of  immigrants  rapidly,  and  yet  silently  filling  the 
country  with  inhabitants.  Missouri  and  Illinois  have  occupied  a  greater 
space  in  public  estimation,  in  newspaper  description,  and  in  general 
notoriety.  The  inunigration  to  these  states  have  been  with  four  or  six 
horse  wagons,  large  droves  of  cattle,  considerable  numbers  of  negroes, 
and  composed  of  immigrants,  who  had  name,  and  were  heads  of  families, 
when  they  removed,  and  whose  immigration  was  accompanied  with  a 
certain  degree  of  eclat.  The  acquisition  of  a  few  families  was  attended 
with  circumstances,  which  gave  it  public  notoriety.  The  settling  of  this 
state  has  been  generally  of  a  different  character,  and  for  the  most  part  of 
young  men,  either  unmarried  or  without  families.  It  has  been  noiseless 
and  unnoticed.  But  the  difference  of  the  result  strikes  us  with  surprise. 
While  the  population  of  neither  of  these  states  has  reached  150,000,  the 
population  of  this  state,  at  this  time,  is  supposed  to  exceed  400,000, 
though  the  total  given  by  the  census  is  344,000,— of  these  65,359  are 
free  white  male  inhabitants  over  21  years.  The  number  of  voters  in 
1825,  was  36,977,  and  of  paupers  217. 

Face  of  the  Country,  Soil,  S^c.  The  south  front  is  skirted  with  the 
usual  belt  of  river  hills,  bluffs  and  knobs,  known  by  the  name  of  'Ohio 
hills.'  They  occupy  a  greater  or  less  distance  from  the  river;  some- 
times leaving  between  it  and  their  base  a  bottom  of  two  or  three  miles  in 
width ;  and  sometimes,  and  for  no  inconsiderable  length  of  the  southern 
boundary,  the^jr  tower  directly  from  the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  and  have  a 
thousand  aspects  of  grandeur  and  beauty,  often  rising  higher  thali  300 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  river.  The  eye  of  the  southern  traveller, 
ascending  the  Ohio,  which  has  been  used  to  rest  on  bottoms  boundless  to 
vision,  on  swamps,  and  regions  without  a  rock  or  a  hill  in  the  scenery, 
never  tires,  in  surveying  these  beautiful  bluffs,  especially  in  the  spring, 
when  their  declivities  are  crimsoned  with  the  red  bud,  or  whitened  with 
the  brilliant  blossoms  of  the  dog  wood,  or  rendered  verdant  with  the 
beautiful  May  apple. 

A  range  of  knobs,  stretching  from  the  Ohio  to  White  River  of  the  Wa- 
bash, forms  the  limits  of  the  table  lands,    that  separate  the  waters  of  the 

47 


1.'  -Sfi.fl 

'mil 


370 


INOUNA. 


If 


Ohio  from  lliose  of  White  River.  iNortli  of  the  VVabasli,  between  Tippi- 
canoe  and  Oiiitanon,  the  Wabash  hills  are  precipitous,  and  a  considerahlc 
extent  of  country  is  rough  and  broken.  There  are  in  different  parts  (if 
the  stale,  large  extents  of  country,  that  may  be  pronounced  hilly.  Sucl, 
is  the  south  front  of  i,  "*  state  to  a  considerable  distance  from  the  Ohio. 
There  are  not  such  extensive  plains  in  this  state,  as  in  Illinois.  Nor  are 
there  any  hills  to  vie  with  those  back  of  Shawneetown.  But  with  some 
few  exceptions,  the  greater  proportion  of  this  state  may  be  pronounced 
one  vast  level.  To  particularize  the  level  tracts  would  be  to  describe 
three  fifths  of  the  state.  The  prairies  here,  as  elsewhere,  are  uniformly 
level.  The  wide  extent  of  country,  watered  by  White  River,  is  generally 
level.  The  prairies  have  the  usual  distinction  of  high  and  low,  swampy 
and  alluvial.  For  a  wide  extent  on  the  north  front  of  the  state,  between 
the  Wabash  and  lake  Michigan  the  country  is  generally  an  extended 
plain,  alternately  prairie  and  timbered  land,  with  a  great  proportion  of 
swampy  lands,  and  small  lakes  and  ponds.  The  prairies  are  no  ways  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  Illinois;  alike  rich,  level,  and  covered  with  grass  and 
flowering  plants.  Some  like  those  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  are  broader 
than  can  be  measured  by  the  eye.  Their  divisions  are  marked  off  where 
ever  streams  cross  them  by  belts  of  timbered  land.  All  the  rivers  of  this 
state  have  remarkably  wide  alluvions.  Every  traveller  has  spoken  with 
admiration  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  prairies  along  the  course  of 
the  Wabash,  particularly  of  those  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Harrison.  Com- 
petent judges  prefer  the  prairies  on  this  part  of  the  river,  both  for  beauty 
and  fertilty  to  those  of  the  Illinois,  and  the  Upper  Mississippi.  Perhaps 
no  part  of  the  western  world  can  show  greater  extent?  of  rich  land  in  one 
body,  than  that  portion  of  White  River  country,  of  which  Indianapolis  is 
the  centre.  Judging  of  Indiana,  from  travelling  through  the  south  front 
from  12  to  20  miles  from  the  Ohio,we  should  not,  probably,  compare  it  with 
Ohio  or  Illinois.  Put  now,  when  the  greater  part  of  the  territory  is  pur- 
chased of  the  Indians,  and  all  is  surveyed,  and  well  understood,  it  is  founa 
that  this  state  possesses  as  large  a  proportion  of  first  rate  lands,  as  any  in 
the  western  country.  With  some  few  exceptions  of  wide  prairies,  the 
divisions  of  timbered  and  prairie  lands  are  more  happily  balanced,  than  in 
other  parts  of  the  western  country.  Many  rich  prairies  are  long  ahd  nar- 
row, so  that  the  whole  can  be  taken  up,  and  timber  be  easily  accessible  by 
all  the  settlers.  There  are  hundreds  of  prairies  only  large  enough  for  a  few 
farms.  Even  in  the  large  piairies  are  those  beautiful  islands  of  timbered 
land,  which  form  such  a  striking  feature  in  the  western  prairies.  The 
great  extents  of  fertile  land,  the  happy  distribution  of  rivers  ami  springs 
may  be  one  cause  of  the  unexampled  rapidity,  with  which  this  state  has 


iii     ■**' 


wmgf 


INDIANA. 


371 


•etweeii  Tippj. 
a  consideraldc 
ferent  parts  of 
|d  hilly.     Such 
from  the  Ohio, 
nois.     Nor  are 
|Biit  with  some 
be  pronounced 
be  to  describe 
are  uniformly 
|er,  is  generally 
'  low,  swampy 
state,  between 
an  extended 
proportion  of 
re  no  ways  dif- 
with  grass  and 
i,  are  broader 
rked  off  where 
le  rivers  of  this 
as  spoken  with 
?  the  course  of 
rrison.     Com- 
30th  for  beauty 
ippi.     Perhaps 
ch  land  in  one 
ndianapolis  is 
he  south  front 
ompare  it  with 
Jrritory  is  pur- 
od,  it  is  found 
nds,  as  any  in 
e  prairies,  the 
meed,  than  in 
long  and  nar- 
accessible  by 
)ugh  for  a  few 
I  of  timbered 
rairies.     The 
s  and  springs 
this  stale  has 


jjeopled.  Another  reason  may  bo,  that  being  a  non-slavehi)Iding  state, 
and  next  in  position  beyond  Ohio,  it  was  h  ippily  situated  to  arrest  tlie 
tide  of  immigration,  that  set  beyond  Ohio,  after  that  state  was  filled. 

We  add  a  few  remarks  in  a  single  view,  upon  the  qualities  of  ihc  soil, 
on  the  several  rivers,  and  near  the  towns,  which  we  shall  describe.     The 
f  )rest  trees,  shrubs,  plants  and  grasses  do  not  materially  differ  from  those 
of  Illinois  and  Missouri.     There  is  one  specific  difference,  that  should  be 
noted.    There  is  a  much  greater  proportion  of  beech  timber,  which  in- 
creases so  much,  as  we  advance  east,  than  in  Ohio,  it  is  clearly  the  princi- 
pal kind  of  timber.     This  state  is  equally  fertile  in  corn,  rye,  oats,  barley, 
wheat  and  the  cereal  gramina  in  general.     Vast  extents  of  the  richer  prai- 
ries nnd  bottoms  are  too  rich  for  wheat,  until  the  natural  wild  luxuriance 
in  the  soil  has  been  reduced  by  cropping.     Upland  rice  has  been  attempt- 
ed with  siU'i'oas.     Some  of  the  warm  and  sheltered  vallies  have  yielded, 
in  favorable  years,  considcrabl:;  crops  of  cotton.     No  country  can  exceed 
this  in  its  adaptedness  for  rearing  the  finest  fruits  and  fruit  bearing  shrubs. 
Wild  berries  in  many  places  aie  abundant ;  and  on  some  of  the  prairies 
the  strawberries  are  large   and  fine.     It  is  affirmed  that  in  the  northern 
parts  in  the  low  prairies  whole  tracts  are  covered  with  the  beautiful  fowl- 
meadow  grass  poa  pratensis,  of  the  north.    It  is  a  certain  fact,  that 
wherever  the  Indians  or  the  French  have  inhabited  long  enough  to  destroy 
the  natural  prairie  grass,  which,  it  is  well  known,  is  soon  eradicated,  by 
being  pastured  by  the  domestic  animals,  that  surround  a  farmer's  barn, 
this  grass  is  replaced  by  the  blue  grass  of  the  western  country,  which  fur- 
nishes not  only  a  beautiful  sward,  but  covers  the  earth  with  a  mat  of  rich 
fodder,  not  unlike  the  second  crop,  which  is  cut  in  the  northern  states,  as 
the  most  valuable  kind  of  hay.    For  all  the  objects  of  farming,  and  raising 
grain,  flour,  hemp,  tobacco,  cattle,  sheep,  swine,  horses  and  generally  the 
articles  of  the  northern  and  middle  states,  immigrants  could  not  desire  a 
better  country,  than  may  be  found  in  Indiana.    In  the  rich  bottoms  in  the 
southern  parts,  the  reed  cane,  and  uncommonly  large  ginseng  are  abun- 
dant. 

Climate,  Sfc.  Little  need  be  said  upon  this  head,  for  this  state, 
situated  in  nearly  the  same  parallels  with  Illinois  and  Missouri,  has  much 
the  same  temperature.  That  part  of  it  which  is  contiguous  to  lake 
Michigan,  is  more  subject  to  copious  rains ;  and  being  otherwise  low  and 
marshy,  much  of  the  land  is  too  wet  for  cultivation.  Some  have  described 
the  country  and  climate  near  lake  Michigan  as  productive  and  delightful. 
For  a  considerable  distance  from  the  lake,  sand  heaps  covered  with  a 
few  stinted  junipers,  and  swept  by  the  gales  of  the  lake,  give  no  promise 
of  a  fine  country  or  climate.     But  beyond  the  influence  of  the    lake 


/      ^ 


'    H- 

"^-i 


i.  M 


i-r 


3TZ 


INDIANA. 


breeze,  the  climalo  is  cool,  mild  nnd  temperutc.  The  state,  in  goncrni, 
is  somewhat  less  cx|)Oscd  to  the  extremes  of  licat  and  cold,  thnn  IllinoiH. 

In  point  of  salubrity,  we  can  do  no  more  than  repeat  the  remarks, 
which  have  so  often  been  found  applicable  to  the  western  country  in 
general,  and  which  from  the  nature  of  things  must  apply  to  all  countries. 
The  high  and  rolling  regions  of  this  state  arc  as  healthy  as  the  same 
kinds  of  land  in  the  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  The  wet  prairies, 
swampy  lands,  and  tracts  contiguous  tu  small  lakes  and  ponds,  and  inun- 
dated bottoms,  intersected  by  bayous,  generate  fever  and  ague,  and 
autumnal  fevers,  and  impart  a  bilious  tendency  to  all  the  disorders  of  the 
country.  The  beautiful  prairies  above  Vincennes,  on  the  Wabash,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Fort  Harrison  and  Tippicanoe,  are  found  to  have  some 
balance  against  their  fertility,  beauty  of  appearance,  and  the  ease  with 
which  they  are  cultivated,  in  their  insalubrity.  That  the  settlers  in 
general,  have  found  this  state,  taken  as  a  whole,  favorable  to  health,  the 
astonishing  increase  of  the  population  bears  ample  testimony. 

The  winters  are  mild,  compared  with  those  of  New  England  or  Penn- 
sylvania. Winter  commences  in  its  severity  about  Christmas,  and  lasts 
seldom  more  than  six  weeks.  During  this  time  in  most  seasons,  the 
rivers,  that  have  not  very  rapid  currents,  are  frozen.  Though  winters 
occur,  in  which  the  Wabash  cannot  be  crossed  upon  the  ice.  About  the 
middle  of  February,  the  severity  of  winter  is  past.  In  the  northern  parts 
of  the  state,  snow  sometimes,  though  rarely,  falls  a  foot  and  a  half  in 
depth.  In  the  middle  and  southern  parts,  it  seldom  falls  more  than  six 
inches.  Peach  trees  are  generally  in  blossom  early  in  March.  The 
forests  begin  to  be  green  from  the  5th  to  the  15th  of  April.  Vast  num- 
bers of  flowering  shrubs  are  in  full  flower,  before  they  are  in  leaf,  which 
gives  an  inexpressible  charm  to  the  early  appearance  of  spring.  Vegeta- 
tion is  liable  to  be  injured  both  by  early  and  late  frosts. 

Rivers.  The  southern  shore  of  this  state  is  wished  by  the  Ohio,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Big  Miami  to  that  of  the  Wabash,  a  distance  of  nearly 
500  miles,  by  the  meanders  of  the  river.  We  reserve  a  description  of 
this  noble  stream  for  our  account  of  the  state  of  Ohio.  Between  the 
Miami  and  the  Wabash,  the  following  considerable  streams,  together 
with  mfiny  small  ones,  enter  the  Ohio.  Tanner's  Creek  falls  in  two 
miles  below  Lawrenceburgh,  and  has  a  course  of  30  miles.  Loughery's 
Creek  enters  11  miles  below  the  Miami,  and  is  40  miles  in  length. 
Indian  Creek,  called  by  the  Swiss,  in  remembrance  of  a  stream  in  their 
native  country,  Venoge,  bounds  the  Swiss  settlements  on  the  south,  and 
enters  the  Ohio  eight  miles  below  the  point  opposite  to  Kentucky  River. 
Wyandot,  Big  Blue,  Little  Blue,  Anderson's  River,  Pigeon  and  Beaver 


I 


INDIANA. 


373 


C^rooks  enter  In  the  onlor  in  which  we  h:iv(?  incntioncd  ih?tn,  ns  uc  •h'scond 
llie  Ohio.  In  doscendin^'  this  (hslnnco,  we  discover  the  jleop  chnsm  throiij^h 
the  bnnks  of  the  Ohio,  where  a  great  iniiny  smnller  stronins  enter.  Muny 
of  these  streams,  at  some  distance  frnin  the  Ohio,  aflbrd  mill  seals.  Wo 
mny  therefore  remark,  that  the  sonth  front  of  Indiana  is  well  watered. 

The  Wabash  is  the  chief  river  of  this  state;  and  after  the  Tennessee 
one  of  the  most  considerable  tributaries  of  tlic  Ohio.  It  glides  through 
tlie  central  parts  of  the  state,  and  by  its  exfcnHive  branches  waters  a  vast 
extent  of  it.  Oneof  the  main  branches  jioads  near  Fort  St.  Mary's,  in 
Darke  county,  Ohio.  The  next  consifleral)le  branch  called  Little  River, 
heads  seven  miles  south  of  Fort  Wayne,  and  enters  the  Wabash,  eighty 
miles  below  St.  Mary 's  Portage.  The  next  is  Massassinewny,  which 
also  heads  in  Ohio,  between  Forts  Greenville  and  Recovery;  and  joins  it  a 
league  and  a  half  below  the  mouth  of  Little  River.  Eel  River,  another 
branch,  rises  in  ponds  and  lakes,  eighteen  miles  west  of  Fort  Wayne,  and 
joins  the  Wabash,  ci^fht  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Massassineway. ' 
Rejoicing,  Mascontin,  Ouitanon,  and  Dcche  are  inconsiderable  tributaries. 

While  River  enters  the  Wabash  from  the  eastern  side,  sixteen  miles 
below  Vincennes.  It  is  the  most  considerable  tributary  of  the  Wabash; 
and  one  of  the  most  important  rivers  in  the  state.  It  waters  a  great  extent 
of  very  fertile  country,  in  a  lateral  direction  to  the  main  steam.  Its 
head  waters  interlock  with  the  waters  of  the  Miami.  Its  principal  tribu- 
taries are  Driftwood  Branch,  Muddy  Fork,  and  Tea-kettle  Branch. 

Little  River,  St.  Mary's,  Rock  River,  and  Pomme,  are  inconsiderable 
tributaries,  that  enter  from  the  eastern  side.  It  receives  a  great  number 
of  considerable  tributaries  from  the  west.  Richard's  Creek  and  Rock 
River  enter  above  Tippicanoe.  This  stream  has  acquired  lasting  fame 
by  the  bloody  action  which  was  fought  upon  its  banks,  between  the  United 
States'  troops,  under  General  Harrison,  and  the  Wabash  savages  in 
November,  1811.  It  originates  from  many  branches  in  ponds  and  lakes, 
which,  like  that  at  the  source  of  the  Plein  of  the  Illinois,  discharge  at 
one  extremity  into  the  waters  of  the  Wabash,  and  at  the  other  into  the 
Maumee  of  the  lakes.  Before  the  battle  of  Tippicanoe  the  Indians  had 
fields  in  high  cultivation  along  the  banks  of  this  river.  Below  this  river 
from  the  west,  enter  in  succession.  Pine,  Redwood,  Rejoicing,  Little 
Vermillion,  Erabliere,  Dachetteand  Brouette  Rivers,  which  are  inconsid- 
erable streams,  that  head  in  the  state  of  Illinois. 

White  Water  is  a  branch  of  the  Big  Miami,  and  a  very  interesting  river. 
It  rises  near  Fort  Greenville,  in  Ohio.  Not  far  from  its  source  it  crosses 
into  this  state,  and  in  its  devious  course,  waters  a  large  extent  of  fertile 
country.  The  West  Fork  unites  with  it  at  Brookvillc,  30  miles  above  its 
entrance  into  the  Miami.     This  beautiful  stjream  is  supposed  to  water 


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374 


A 


INDIANA. 


nearly  a  million  acres  of  land.  It  abounds  in  fine  fish^  and  surpasses  the 
other  rivers  of  the  country  in  the  unusual  transparency  of  waters.  It  has 
its  sources  in  copious  hill  springs,  and  its  waters  are  uncommonly  cold. 
The  people  in  its  vicinity  have  an  idea  that  its  waters  are  too  much  want- 
ing in  specific  gravity,  or  too  little  buoyant,  fur  ordinary  swimmers  to 
t      t  themselves  to  bathe  in  it. 

The  northern  front  of  the  state,  bordering  on  tlie  territory  of  Michigan, 
and  the  lake  of  that  name,  is  watered  copiously  by  rivers,  that  empty  into 
that  lake  and  lake  Erie.  The  principal  of  these  are  the  St.  Joseph  of  the 
Maumec  of  the  lakes,  and  its  numerous  branches,  the  river  Raisin  of  lake 
Erie,  Black  River  of  lake  Michigan  with  its  numerous  branches;  Chemin. 
Big  and  Little  Kenomic,  all  of  that  lake,  and  Theakiki,  Kickapoo,  Plein, 
and  the  Vermillion  of  Illinois.  These  numerous  rivers  generally  have 
short  courses,  and  carry  large  volumes  of  water.  Most  of  them  originate 
in  ponds  and  lakes,  of  which  an  hundred  exist  along  the  northern  frontier. 
•Many  have  the  peculiar  character  of  such  waters  in  this  region,  that  is 
to  say,  a  position  on  an  elevated  plateau,  from  one  extremity  of  whicli 
the  waters  discharge  into  the  lakes,  and  from  the  other  into  the  waters  of 
the  Mississippi.        ..  :  :    '  ■  , , ,     • 

Although  this  state  has  not  so  great  an  extent  of  inland  navigation  as 
Illinois,  the  amount  of  that  navigation  is  very  great.  Many  of  its  waters 
interlock  with  those  of  the  Illinois.  It  possesses  the  whole  extent  of  the 
noble  Wabash,  and  White  River,  and  its  numerous  beatable  branches, 
Jl  V  these  large  marshy  ponds,  which  at  once  discharge  into  lake  Michigan 
anti  jSrie  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  other,  with  a 
smal.  expense  of  money  and  labor,  the  lakes  will  be  united  by  canals  with 
the  Ohio  and  Illinois.  A  navigable  canal  already  connects  the  White 
Water  by  the  Big  Miami  with  the  Ohio,  at  Cincinnati.  This  state  so 
rapidly  becoming  populous,  is  the  younger  sister  of  Ohio,  and  will  soon 
dispute  the  point  of  population  and  importance.  It  will  ere  long  emulate 
the  enterprise,  the  canals  and  great  public  works  of  its  model.  By  the 
lakes  the  northern  frontier  is  already  connected  with  Canada  and  New 
York.  The  whole  extent  of  the  inland  navigation  may  be  fairly  rated  at 
5,000  miles.      «         ^*\      .  , 

Chief  Towns.  Character  of  the  country  in  which  they  are  situated. 
The  tabular  view  of  county  towns  presents  the  names  of  the  most  con- 
siderable villages  in  this  state.  To  mention,  in  detail,  all  that  have  really 
attained  some  degree  of  consequence,  would  only  furnish  a  barren  cata- 
logue of  names.  We  will  mention  the  chief  of  those  on  the  Ohio,  in 
descending  order,  beginning  with  Lawrenceburgh,  on  the  south-eastern 
angle  of  the  state. 


^  "T*  ' 


INDIANA. 


3T5 


This  town,  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  county  of  Dearborn,  stands  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio,  23  miles  bolow  Cincinnati,  and  two  miles 
below  the  Big  Miami,  the  eastern  limit  of  the  state.  It  is  in  the  centre  of 
a  rich  bottom.  The  ancient  village  was  built  on  the  first  bottom,  which 
was  frequently  exposed  to  inundation.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  the 
water  to  rise  four  or  five  feet  above  the  foundations  of  the  houses,  in 
which  case  the  inhabitants  removed  to  the  upper  story,  and  drove  their 
domestic  animals  to  the  hills.  Visits  and  tea  parties  were  projected  in  the 
inundated  town,  and  the  vehicles  of  transport  skiifs  and  periogues.  The 
period  of  the  flood,  from  ancient,  custom,  and  the  suspension  of  all  the 
customary  pursuits,  became  a  time  of  carnival.  The  floods,  instead  of 
creating  disease,  v  ash  the  surface  of  the  earth,  carry  off  vegetable  and 
animal  matter,  and  are  supposed  to  be  rather  conducive  to  health  than 
otherwise.  The  old  town,  built  on  the  first  bank,  }iad  been  stationary  for 
many  years.  New  Lawrenceburgh  has  been  recently  built  on  the  second 
bank,  and  on  elevated  ground,  formed  by  the  bank  of  Tanner's  Creek. 
Since  the  commencement  of  this  town  few  places  have  made  more  rapid 
progress.  Many  of  the  new  houses  are  handsome ;  and  some  of  tliem 
make  a  handsome  show  from  the  river.  Its  position,  in  relation  to  the 
river,  the  rich  adjacent  country,  and  the  Big  Miami,  is  highly  eligible. 
It  has  a  number  of  respectable  commencing  manufactories,  and  promises 
to  be  a  large  town.    It  contains  1,000  inhabitants. 

Aurora  is  a  new  village,  at  the  mouth  of  Hogan  Creek,  four  miles 
below,  on  the  Ohio.  It  contains  between  60  and  70  dwellings.  Rising 
Sun,  13  miles  below  Lawrenceburgh,  occupies  a  beautiful  position  on  the 
Ohio,  and  is  a  village  something  larger  than  Aurora.    :  '' 

Vevay,  the  seat  of  justice  for  Switzerland  county,  is  situated  8  miles 
above  the  point,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Kentucky  River,  and  45  miles 
below  Cincinnati,  It  contains  between  2  and  300  houses,  a  court  house, 
jail,  academy,  printing  office,  from  which  issues  a  weekly  journal,  a  branch 
of  the  Bank  of  Indiana,  and  some  other  public  buildings.  This  inter- 
esting town  was  commenced  in  1804,  by  30  Swiss  families,  to  whom  the 
United  States  made  a  grant,  undei*  favorable  stipulations,  of  a  considera- 
ble tract  of  land,  to  patronize  the  cultivation  of  the  vine.  The  patriarch 
of  this  colony  was  a  Swiss  gentleman,  of  the  name  of  J.  J.  Dnfour, 
who  continued  an  intelligent  friend  to  the  town.  The  colony  soon 
received  considerable  accessions  from  the  mountains  of  Switzerland. 
In  grateful  remembrance  of  their  native  hills,  and  to  create  in  the  bosom 
of  their  adopted  country  tender  associations  with  their  ancient  country, 
they  named  their  stream  Venoge,  and  their  town  Vevay.  Messrs.  Dufour, 
Morerod,  Bettens,  Sicbenthal,  and  others,  commenced  the  cultivation  of 
the  gmpe  on  a  large  scale.    This  cultivation  has  gone  on  steadily  in- 


J^ 


»  It 


^ 


870 


INDIANA. 


creasing.  An  hundred  experiments  have  been  since  commenced  in  dif- 
ferent points  of  the  West.  But  this  still  remains  the  largest  vineyard  in 
the  United  States.  We  have  witnessed  nothing  in  our  country,  in  the 
department  of  gardening  and  cultivation,  which  can  compare  witli  tlic 
richness  of  this  vineyard,  in  the  autumn,  wlien  the  clusters  are  in 
maturity.  Words  feebly  paint  such  a  spectacle.  The  horn  of  plenty 
seems  to  have  been  emptied  in  the  production  of  this  rich  fruit.  We 
principally  remarked  the  blue  or  Cape  grape  and  the  Madeira  grape. 
The  wine  of  the  former  has  been  preferred  to  the  Claret  of  Bordeaux. 
The  fruit  tends  to  become  too  succulent  and  abundant.  It  is  now  sup- 
posed that  some  of  our  native  grapes,  will  more  easily  acclimate,  and 
make  a  better  wine.  These  amiable  and  industrious  people  are  constantly 
profiting  by  experience.  This  species  of  agriculture  already  yields  them 
a  better  profit  than  any  other  practised  in  our  country.  They  are  every 
year  improving  on  the  vintage  of  the  past.  They  are  the  simple  and 
interesting  inhabitants  that  we  might  expect,  from  the  prepossessions 
of  early  reading,  to  find  from  the  vine  clad  hills  of  Switzerland.  Tliey 
are  mostly  protestants,  and  happily  compound  the  vivacity  of  the  French 
with  the  industry  of  the  Germans.  Like  the  former  they  love  gaiety 
and  dancing.  Like  the  latter  they  easily  fall  in  with  the  spirit  of  our 
institutions,  love  our  country  and  its  laws,  intermarry  with  our  people,  and 
are  in  all  respects  a  most  amiable  people.  There  is  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  professional  men  in  Vevay,  a  public  library,  a  literary  society,  and 
many  of  the  comforts  and  improvements  of  a  town.  Mr.  Dufour  has 
distinguished  himself  by  agricultural  publications,  particularly  upon  the 
culture  of  the  vine.  This  industrious  people  have  created  some  manu- 
factures, peculiar  to  themselves,  particularly  that  of  straw  bonnets.  The 
position  of  the  town  is  fortunate,  in  relation  to  the  back  country,  and  tlie 
other  interior  large  towns. 

Madison,  tlie  most  populous,  and  one  of  the  pleasantest  and  most 
thriving  towns  in  the  state;  is  situated  on  the  Ohio, nearly  equi- distant 
between  Louisville  and  Cincinnati,  and  was  commenced  in  ISU.  In 
1829  between  40  and  50  brick  buildings,  many  of  them  three  stories, 
were  added  to  the  town ;  and  the  promise  of  future  progress  is  equally 
great.  Its  position  on  the  Ohio  is  peculiarly  favorable,  it  being  the  point 
of  the  river  nearest  to  Indianapolis,  84  miles  from  it,  and  the  landing 
place  for  the  imports  from  the  Ohio  to  a  number  of  the  newly  settled  and 
thriving  counties.  Besides  churches  and  public  buildings,  it  has  25  dry 
good^s  Stores,  many  of  them  transacting  an  extensive  business.  A  line 
of  stages  passes  through  it.  It  has  two  printing  offices,  and  issues  a 
respectable  weekly  gazette.  It  has  an  insurance  company,  and  expects  a 
branch  of  the  United  States  Bank.    It  does  a  large  business  in  exports  of 


INDIANA. 


377 


the  produce  of  the  country,  and  is  particularly  noted  for  the  quantity  of 
pork  barrelled  here.     It  contains  2,000  inhabitants. 

New  London,  ten  miles  lower  on  the  river,  and  Charlestown,  29  miles 
lower,  and  two  miles  back  from  tlio  Ohio,  are  small  villages.  The  land 
about  the  latter  town  was  a  grant  of  gratilude  from  Virginia  to  the  brave 
General  Clark  and  his  soldiers,  for  their  achievements  at  the  close  of  the 
revolulionary  war. 

Jeflersonville  is  situated  just  ubove  the  falls  of  Ohio.  The  town  of 
Louisville  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  the  beautiful  and  rich  country 
beyond,  together  with  the  broad  and  rnpid  river, ibrming  whitening  sheets 
and  c:iscadcs  from  shore  to  shore,  the  display  of  steam  boats,  added  to  the 
high  banks,  the  neat  village,  and  the  nuble  woods  on  the  north  bank,  unite 
to  render  the  scenery  of  this  village  uncommonly  rich  and  diversified. 
It  13*3  considerable  and  handsome  village  with  some  houses,  that  have  a 
show  of  magnificence.  It  has  a  land  offices,  a  post  office,  a  printing  office, 
and  some  other  public  buildings.  It  was  contemplated  to  canal  the  falls 
on  this  side  of  the  river;  and  a  company  with  a  large  capital  was  incor- 
porated by  the  legislature.  In  1819,  the  work  was  commenced,  but  has 
not  been  prosecuted  with  the  success  that  was  hoped.  The  completion 
of  the  canal  on  the  opposite  side  will,  probably,  merge  this  project,  by 
rendering  it  useless.  One  of  the  principal  chutes  of  the  river,  in  low 
water,  is  near  this  shore ;  and  experienced  pilots,  appointed  by  the  state, 
are  always  in  readiness  to  conduct  boats  over  the  falls.  Clarksville  is  a 
small  village  just  below  this  place.  -  -'  • 

New  Albany,  the  seat  of  justice  for  Floyd  county,  is  four  and  a  half 
miles  below  Jeffersonville.  The  front  street  is  three  quarters  of  a  mile  in 
length,  {uid  makes  a  respectable  appearance  from  the  river.  Many  steam 
boats,  that  cannot  pass  the  falls,  are  laid  up  for  repair  at  this  place,  dur- 
ing the  summer.  It  has  a  convenient  ship  yard  for  building  steam  boats, 
and  is  a  thriving  and  busy  village,  containing  1,900  inhabitants. 

Fredonia,  Leavenworth,  Rockport,  and  Evansville  occur,  as  we  descend 
the  Ohio.  The  last  is  a  village  of  some  consequence.  It  is  the  landing 
place  for  immigrants,  descending  the  Ohio,  for  the  Wabash.  It  is  at  the 
mouth  of  Big  Pigeon  Creek,  54  miles  south  of  Vincennes,  and  45  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Wabash.  Being  about  half  way  between  the  falls  of 
Ohio  and  the  mouth,  it  is  a  noted  stopping  place  for  steam  boats. 

Corydon,  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  county  of  Harrison,  was  for  a  con- 
siderable time  the  political  metropolis  of  this  state.  It  is  distant  23 
miles  from  Jeffersonville,  and  13  from  the  Ohio,  and  is  situated  in  the 
forks  of  Indian  Creek.  North  of  the  town,  spreads  an  extensive  regicm 
of  barrens,  full  of  sink  holes  and  lime  stone  caves.  ^^ 

48  .      • 


'.*. 
** 


^• 


«j 


373 


INDIANA. 


■y^' 


Salem,  on  a  small  branch  of  Blue  River,  34  miles  north  of  Coryilon, 

is  a    flourishing   county   town,  containing    more  than  100  houses 

Brownstown,  Paoli,  and  Washington,  are  inferior  county  towns.  The 
following  towns  are  on  the  Wahash  as  we  descend  the  river.  Above 
Tippicanoe  is  the  old  French-  post  of  Ouitanon,  at  the  head  of  boiilable 
navigation  on  the  river,  in  the  centre  of  what  was  recently  the  country  of 
the  savages.  Its  origin  dates  back  nearly  one  hundred  years.  The  in- 
habitants are  a  mixture  of  French  and  Indian  blood.  Merom  is  on  a  higi) 
bluff  of  the  Wabash,  opposite  La  Motte  Prairie,  in  Illinois,  and  is  in  the 
I  centre  of  rich  and  beautiful  prairies.  It  has  peopled  with  great  rapidity. 
Terre  Haute  is  situated  two  miles  below  Fort  Harrison,  as  its  name  im- 
^rts,  on  a  high  bank  of  the  Wabash.  It  is  a  growing  and  important 
village.  Shaker  Town,  15  miles  above  Vincennes,  contains  a  community 
of  the  industrious  people  called  Shakers,  and  exhibits  the  marks  of  tirder 
and  neatness,  that  so  universally  characterize  this  people. 

Vincennes  is,  after  Kaskaskia,  the  oldest  place  in  tlie  western  world. 

It  was  settled  in  1735  by  French  emigrants  from  Canada.     They  fixed 

themselves  here  in  a  beautiful,  rich,  and  isolated  spot,  in  the  midst  of  the 

deserts.    For  an  age  they  had  little  intercourse  with  any  other  people  than 

savages.     Their  interests,  pursuits  and  feelings  were  identified  with  them. 

Their  descendants  are  reclaimed  from   their  savage  propensities;  and 

have  the  characteristic  vivacity  and  politeness  of  the  French  people.    It 

is  150  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash;  and  54  from  the  nearest 

poin{ of  the  Ohio.     It  has  improved  rapidly  of  late;  and  contains  300 

houses,  a  brick  court  house  and  hotel,  a  jail,  a  respectable  building  for  an 

Academy,  a  Roman  Catholic  and  a  Presbyterian  church,  land  office,  post 

office,  two  printing  offices,  from  one  of   which  is  issued  a  respectable 

gazette,  a  bank,  and  some  other  public  buildings,  and  1,500  inhabitants. 

It  is  situated  contiguous  to  a  beautiful  prairie,  5,000  acres  of  which  are 

cultivated  as  a  common  field,  after  the  ancient  French  customs.    It  was 

for  a  long  time  tlie  seat  of  the  territorial  goverament,  and  still  has  as 

much  trade  as  any  other  place  in  the  state.     The  plat  of  the  town  is  level, 

and  laid  off  with  regularity.    The  houses  have  extensive  gardens,  crowded 

after  the  French  fashion  with  fruit  trees.    It  is  accessible,  for  the  greater 

part  of  the  year,  by  steam  boats ;  and  is  a  place  of  extensive  supply  of 

merchandise  to  the  interior  of  the  state.    Volney,  who  visited  this  place 

not  long  afler  the  establishment  of  the  Federal  Government,  gives  a 

graphic  and  faithful  account  of  the  appearance  of  this  place,  and  the 

adjoining  country,  the  French  inhabitants  and  their  manners.    At  the 

same  time  he  presents  a  revolting  picture  of  the  manner  in  which  the 

Americans  had  treated  them.    Perhaps  he  had  not  learned  that  Vincennes 


INDIANA. 


379 


liad  been  for  a  long  timo  a  nest  of  savages,  from  which  they  fitted  out 
tlicir  murderous  expeditions ;  and  that  it  was  natural  that  the  Kentuckians 
who  had  suffered  much  from  them,  should  retaliate  upon  the  people  who 
hail  harbored  them.  lie  rfcpresents  them,  subsequently,  to  have  been 
cheated  out  of  their  lands  by  the  Americans,  and  their  ignorance  so 
profound,  that  little  more  than  half  their  number  could  read  or  write; 
ami  he  avers  that  he  cuuld  instantly  distinguish  them,  when  mixed  with 
the  Americans,  by  their  meagre  and  tanned  faces,  and  their  look  of  poverty 
and  desolation.  However  just  this  picture  may  have  been  in  1706,  it  is 
reversed  now.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  have  an  air  of  ease  and  affluence; 
and  Vincennes  furnishes  a  pleasant  and  respectable  society. 

Harmony  is  fifty-four  miles  below  Vincennes,  and  something  more  than 
one  hundred  by  water  above  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  river,  16  miles  from  the  nearest  point  of  the  Ohio,  on  a  rich  and 
heavily  timbered  plateau,  or  second  bottom.    It  is  high,  healthy,  has  a 
fertile  soil,  and  is  in  the  vicinity  of  small  and    rich  prairies,  and  is  a 
pleasant  and  well  chosen  pasition.     It  was  first  settled  in  1814,  by  a  re- 
hgious  sect  of  Germans,  denominated  Ilarmonites.    They  were  emigrants 
fiom  Germany,  and  settled  first  on'  Beaver  Creek  in  Pennsylvania.     They 
moved  in  a  body,  consisting  of  800  souls,  to  this  place.     Their  spiritual 
and  temporal  leader  was  George  Rapp,  and  all  the  lands  and  possessions 
were  held  in  his  name.     Their  society  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  inter- 
mediate sect  between  the  Shakers  and  Moravians.     They  held  their 
property  in  common.     Their  regulations  were  extremely  strict  and  severe. 
In  their  order,  industry,  neatness,  and  perfect  subordination,  they  resem- 
bled the  Shakers.     They  soon  erected  from  80  to  100  large  and  substantial 
buildings.    Their  lands  were  laid  off*  with  tlie  most  perfect  regularity, 
and  were  as  right  angled  and  square  as  compass  could  make  them. 
They  were  wonderfully  successful  here,  as  they  had  been  in  other  places, 
in  converting  a  wilderness  into  a  garden  in  a  short  time.    They  had  even 
the  luxury  of  a  botanic  garden  and  a  green  house.    Their  great  house  of 
assembly,  with  its  wings  and  appendages,  was  nearly  100  feet  square. 
Here  they  lived,  and  labored  in  common,  and  in  profound  peace.    But 
from  some  cause,  their  eyes  were  turned  from  the  rich  fields  and  the  wide 
prairies,  and  the  more  southern  and  temperate  climate  of  the  Wabash 
towards  Beaver  Creek,  the  place  where  they  had  first  settled.     While 
they  were  under  the  influence  of  these  yearnings,  the  leader  of  a  new 
sect  came  upon  them.      This  was  no  other  tlian  Robert  Owen  of  New 
Lanark,  in  Scotland,  a  professed  philosopher  of  a  new  school,  who  advo- 
cated new  principles,  and  took  new  views  of  society.     He  denominated 
his  theory,  'The  Social  System.'    He  was  opulent,  and  disposed  to  make 
a  grand  experiment  of  his  principles  on  the  prairies  of  the  Wabash,  and 


«. 


ii 


380 


•   f 

INDIANA. 


purchased  the  land  and  village  of  Mr.  Rapp,  for  190,000  dollars.  In  ^ 
short  time  there  were  ndmiltcd  to  iJic  new  cslfibliglimnnt  from  seven  to 
eight  hundred  persons.  Thoy  dnncrd  nil  torjefher,  one  night  in  every  wpok 
and  had  a  concert  of  music  in  anolhnr.  'i'lip  Sal  bntli  wns  occupied  in  the 
delivery  nnd  hearing  of  philopophicul  Ircf  iirrs.  Two  of  Mr.  Owen's  sons 
and  Mr.  M'Clure  joined  him  fmm  Scotiantl.  The  soriofy  at  Xcw  Ilarmnnv 
as  the  place  was  called,  excited  a  groat  deal  of  remark  in  every  part  of  ihe 
United  States.  Great  numbers  of  distinguished  men  in  nil  the  walks  of 
life  wrote  to  the  society,  making  enquiries,  respecting  its  prospects,  and 
rules;  and  expressing  a  desire,  al  some  future  time  to  join  it.  Mr.  Owen 
remainedat  New  Harmony,  little  more  than  n  year;in  which  timehemadea 
voyage  to  Europe.  The  fourth  of  Jidy,  1820,  he  promulgated  his  famous 
declaration  of '  mental  independence.'  The  society  had  begun  to  moulder 
before  this  time.  He  has  left  New  Harmony,  and  '  the  social  system'  is 
abandoned.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  that  this  beautiful  village,  which  has  been 
the  theatre  of  such  singular  and  opposite  experiments,  will  again  flourish. 

Brookvillc  is  a  decaying  village,  in  the  forks  of  the  beautiful  White 
Water.  It  was  noted  for  the  number  and  entcrprize  of  its  mechanics  and 
manufacturers.  A  number  of  its  public  and  private  buildings  are  of  brick, 
and  respectable.  It  has  grist  mills,  saw  mills,  carding  machines,  a 
printing  office  and  numbers  of  the  common  mechanic  shops,  where  the 
usual  articles  of  city  manufacture  are  made. 

The  surrounding  country  is  finely  timbered  and  watered.  The  soil  is 
rich  and  productive;  and  has  acquired  reputation  for  the  excellence  of  its 
tobacco.  From  some  cause,  notwithstanding  all  these  advantages,  it  has 
declined.     The  number  of  houses  exceeds  one  htmdred.  v 

Harrison  is  situated  on  the  north  shore  of  White  Water,  eight  miles 
fVoM  its  mouth,  eighteen  north-east  of  Brookville,  and  in  the  centre  of 
an  excellent  body  of  land.  The  village  is  divided  between  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  In  the  rich  and  extensive  bottoms,  that 
surround  this  village,  are  found  great  niunbers  of  Indian  mounds.  They 
contain  quantities  of  human  bones,  in  all  stages  of  decay.  Indian  axes, 
vases,  and  implements  of  war  and  domestic  use,  abound  in  them.  In 
the  bottom  of  most  of  them  are  found  brands,  coal  and  ashes;  indications, 
from  which  antiquarians  have  inferred,  that  they  were  places  of  sacrifice, 
and  that  the  victims  were  human. 

Richmond  ic  a  thriving  town  of  1,500  inhabitants. 

Indianapolis  is  situated  on  the  west  bank  of  White  River,  in  the  centre 
of  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  fertile  bodies  of  land  in  the  western 
world ;  nearly  central  to  the  state,  and  at  a  point  accessible  by  steam  boats, 
in  cominon  stages  of  the  Wabash.  No  river  in  America  according  to  its 
9ize  and  extent,  waters  greater  bodies  of  fertile  land,  than  White  River, 


INDIANA. 


:m 


The  country  is  settling  nbout  this  town  with  unexainplr  J  rapidity.  But 
g  few  yenrs  since,  it  wns  a  s  lid  and  dcrp  forest,  where  the  surprised 
traveller  n"W  sees  the  l.uildings  of  a  metropolis,  compact  streets  and  squares 
of  brick  lniil(linj.'s,  respertril)lc  public  biiil  linps,  munufiictorios,  mechanic 
Bh"ps,  printinrr  olVices,  liusiiiess  and  busllo.  Such  is  the  present  aspect 
of  Indi;inripf)lis,  which  contains  two  hundred  liouscs,  nnd  1,200  inhabit- 
ants. Tt  will,  probably,  berome  one  of  the  largest  towns  between 
Cincinnati  and  the  Mississippi. 

In  the  recently  settled  parts  of  the  state,  have  sprung  up  a  number  of 
new  towns,  with  compact  streets  and  handsome  houses,  within  four  or 
five  years.  The  most  considerable  of  tliese  are  Logansport,  Terre  Haute, 
Rockvillc,  Crawfordsvillc,  and  La  Fayette.  This  last  town  is  now  the 
head  of  navigation  on  the  Wabash.  At  the  point  designated  by  the 
commissioners  for  the  termination  of  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal,  06  miles 
below  La  J'ayette,  is  the  famous  battle  ground  of  Tippicanoo  at  the  mouth 
of  that  river.  It  exhibits  the  most  beautiful  scenery.  The  breast-works 
of  the  American  army  are  still  visible.  The  hottest  point  of  the  fight  is 
indicated  by  the  masses  of  bones  of  the  horses  that  wero  killed.  General 
Tipton,  who  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  distinguished  himself  in  that 
battle,  is  the  present  owner  of  the  site,  and  has  enclosed  it  with  a  view  to 
consecrating  the  memory  of  that  event. 

The  increase  of  population  in  this  state,  since  the  year  1820,  has  been 
unexampled,  even  in  the  annals  of  western  progress.  The  inhabitants 
then  amounted  to  147,000.  The  census  of  1830  gives  it  344,000  This 
census  did  not  include  any  but  resident  persons.  Great  numbers  of 
immigrants  were  in  the  state  at  the  time  it  was  taken,  and  were  not 
included  in  it.  The  tide  of  immigration  was  stronger  at  no  period,  than 
last  autumn.     The  number  of  inhabitants  at  this  time,  exce.nls  400,000. 

The  principal  influx  of  this  population  has  been  to  the  c-^ujrtry  on  the 
Upper  Wabash,  forming  the  counties  of  Warren,  Fountain,  '  'ippicanoe, 
Madison,  Hancock,  Clay,  Caroll,  Cass,  Clinton,  and  Boone.  These 
counties  send  four  Senators  and  eight  representatives  to  the  General 
Assembly.  The  inhabitants  are  distinguished  for  their  progress  in  making 
farms  and  towns,  and  their  intelligence  and  respectability.  Nearly  half 
the  counties  have  been  constituted  within  the  last  five  years. 

The  soil  of  the  Upper  Wabash  is  of  the  richest  quality,  being  black, 
deep,  friable  and  extremely  productive.  Over  the  whole  extent  we  meet 
with  fertile  and  beautifully  undulating  prairies.  Unlike  those  farther 
west,  some  of  them  have  small  hills  of  considerable  elevation  with 
groves  on  their  summits,  presenting  delightful  prospects  to  the  eye. 
The  productiveness  of  these  prairies  is  surprising.  The  face  of  the 
country  is  undergoing  an  astonishing  change,  which  seems  the  work  of 


-^ 


38ii 


INDIANA. 


cncliantmont.  fiirce  or  four  years  ago  it  liad  only  been  trodden  by 
savaged  or  the  animals  of  tiio  wilderness.  Wo  now  see  not  only 
luxuriant  forests,  numerous  flocks^  hcrdn  and  commencing  orchards,  and 
gardens,  but  neat  and  substantial  brick  houses. 

In  consequence  of  the  great  cliange  produced  by  tlie  opening  of  the 
New  York  cannJ,  and  the  canal  connecting  Lake  Erie  with  Ontario,  the 
north  front  of  Indiana  along  Lake  Michigan,  which,  a  few  years  since, 
was  regarded  as  a  kind  of  terminating  point  of  habitancy  in  the  desert, 
has  l)egun  to  be  viewed  as  a  maratime  shore,  and  the  most  important  front 
of  the  state. 

Navigable  waters.  Their  extent  has  been  rated  at  2,500  miles.  We 
have  given  nn  estimate  of  twice  that  amount.  When  we  take  into  view 
the  whole  northern  lakes,  and  all  their  shores,  traversed  at  present  by 
steam  boats,  this  estimate  will  be  found  moderate.  The  beatable 
waters,  beside  the  lakes,  consist  of  the  long  extent  of  the  Ohio,  washing 
the  soothern  shore,  the  Wabash  and  its  waters,  Petoka,  Blue  River,  St. 
Joseph,  White  Water,  Rocky  River,  Pomme,  Massiaineway,  Eel  River, 
Little  River,  Pan^lier  Creek,  Elkhorn,  St.  Joseph  of  Lake  Michigan,  Great 
and  Little  Kenomic,  Chcmin,  Chicago,  Kickapoo,  Theakiki,  part  of  Fox, 
Plein  and  Illinois.  The  distance  from  Chicago,  to  New  Orleans  is  1680, 
and  to  Buffalo  800  miles. 

In  regard  to  the  facility  of  communication  between  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi,  and  the  lakes,  we  have  already  noted  the  great  number  of  lakes 
and  ponds,  that  from  one  extremity  communicate  with  tliose  rivers;  and 
from  the  other,  with  Lake  Erie  and  Michigan.  More  than  20  of  these 
portages  have  been  practised.  Among  the  first,  we  name  that  between 
St.  Marys,  and  Little  River  of  the  Wabash.  By  this  the  French  formerly 
communicated  with  their  posts  on  the  Wabash.  The  second  is  a  short 
portage,  between  Chicago  and  tlie  Kickapoo  of  the  Illinois.  In  high 
spring  waters,  boats  pass  by  this  route  from  the  lake  to  the  river.  The 
third  is  the  distance  of  a  league  between  the  north  branch  of  the  Big 
Miami,  and  the  south  branch  of  the-Maumec.  By  this  communication 
canoes  have  passed  from  the  Ohio  to  Lake  Erie.  Another  communication 
is  a  kind  of  natural  canal  at  Loramier^s  Fort,  connecting  the  Miami  and 
the  Maumee,  which  is  practicable  for  boats  in  high  waters.  There  is 
another  similar  connection  between  Hudson  River  of  Lake  Erie,  and 
Grand  River  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  Muskingum  of  the  Ohio  commu- 
nicates in  spring  floods  with  the  Cuyahoga  of  Lake  Erie.  There  is  a 
portage  of  four  miles,  between  the  St.  Joseph  of  Lake  Michigan,  and 
Theakiki,  of  two  miles  between  the  Theakiki  and  the  great  Kenomic, 
of  half  a  mile  between  the  Great  and  Little  Kenomic;  of  three  miles 
between  Chicago   and    Plein,  and   numerous  other  communications 


^ 


rf#*^ 


% 


INDIANA! 


383 


between  the  rivers  oflho  Wubotih  and  Lake  Michij^an,  tuo  numerous  to 
mention.  • 

The  river  Chicago  empties  into  Lake  Michigan,  near  the  territorial 
limits  of  Imliuna  nnd  Illinois.  Its  harbor  irt  tlic  south-western  extremity 
of  that  lake.  Fort  Dearborn,  where  tlic  bloody  tragedy  of  September, 
ISI.%  was  enacted  by  the  Indians,  in  the  massacre  of  its  garrison,  was, 
until  recently,  a  military  jwst  of  the  United  States.  It  has  lately  been 
abandoned.  At  the  mouth  of  this  river  is  the  only  harbor  on  the  lake 
for  a  great  distance;  and  when  ever  a  canal  shall  unite  the  Illinois  with 
the  lake,  it  will  become  a  place  of  great  commercial  importance. 

Indians.  Until  recently,  they  owned  the  greater  part  of  the  fertile 
lands  in  this  state.  Most  of  ^hese  lands  have  lately  been  purchased  of 
them  by  treaty.  The  nnmea  of  the  tribes,  as  they  used  to  be,  convey  little 
idea  of  their  present  position  and  numbers.  Gre;it  numbers  hiive 
emigrated  far  to  the  west,  on  White  River  and  Arkansas.  Others  have 
strayed  into  Canada,  or  towards  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  their 
deserted  places  are  rapidly  filling  with  the  habitations  of  white  men. 
Their  names,  as  they  used  to  be,  are  Masconlins,  Piankashaws,  Kicka- 
poos,  Delawares,  Miamies,  Shawnees,  Weeas,  Ouitanons,  Eel  Rivers  and 
Poltawattomies.  Their  present  numbers  can  not  exceed  four  or  five 
thousand  souls.  It  is  an  unquestionable  evidence  of  the  fertility  of  the 
country  in  the  interior  of  Indiana,  that  it  was  once  the  seat  of  Uie  most 
dense  Indian  population  in  tho  western  country.  The  Indians  ^nvarinbiy 
fixed  in  greatest  numbers,  where  the  soil  was  fertile,  the  country  healthy, 
and  the  means  of  transport  on  water  courses  easy  and  extensive.  Such 
countries  abounded  in  fish  and  game,  and  such  was  the  country  in 
question.  The  Indians  in  this  country  were  invaded,  in  1791,  by  Gen. 
Wilkinson.  He  destroyed  their  principal  town.  It  contained  120  houses, 
eighty  of  which  were  roofed  with  shingles.  The  gardens  and  improve- 
ments about  it  were  delightful.  There  was  a  tavern  with  cellars,  bar, 
public  and  private  rooms ;  and  the  whole  indicated  no  small  degree  of 
order  and  civilization.  The  prophet's  town,  destroyed  by  Gen.  Harrison 
in  November,  1811,  was  a  considerable  place.  The  Miamies  possess  a 
reservation  near  Logan's  Fort,  of  36  miles  square  of  land,  of  the  finest 
quality.  Their  numbers  are  1,150.  '  Beside  their  rich  lands,  they  have 
an  annuity  of  25^000  dollars,  which,  with  their  possessions,  render  them 
wealthy.  Near  the  Kankakee  Ponds  north  of  the  Wabash,  reside  the 
Pottawatt'omi*  a,  who  are  more  numerous  than  the  Miamies.  These 
Indians,  in  1826  ceded  lands  to  the  United  States,  for  the  purpose  of 
causing  a  road  to  be  constructed  from  Lake  Michigan  by  way  of  Indian- 
apolis to  the  Ohio.  Congress  confirmed  the  grant,  and  the  road  has 
beien  laid  out,  and  rendered  passable.  ,.  ,,  , 


%*; 


m 


,.  ■» 


INDIANA. 


I  f- 


(Jame  and  /Y*A.  Tlio  iiiterior  and  iiortlieiii  putts  of  tins  hIhIo  aw 
abtindintly  stdckcd  willw^imi'.  IJ 'irs,  iiri!l  csiuriiilly  deor,  aro cornniuii, 
Wild  turki'VH  hiive  1  eon  piipposol  hy  s  nnc,  to  nlHitiiid  a.s  tniic.h  i>n  iIk- 
waters  ofWIiiic  River,  jih  tlicy  do  in  tlie  sctlird  rryions.  IIiinduulH  nro 
Bomelinics  driven  Irnin  one  corn  Held.  Prairio  liens,  jmrtridyea  uiul 
grouse  nboniid  on  (ho  |>r:iiriuH,  nnd  in  sonic  seas  .iis,  wild  pigeons  are  seen 
hero  in  conntlrss  nnnil  ors.  Where  ihey  rui  si,  llie  limbs  of  the  trees  are 
broken  oil'  in  all  directions  by  their  nniiil  eis.  Veiioni'  us  snakes  and 
noxious  reptil(!sare  sometimes  8cen,es|)uiial|y  in  the  vicinity  of  led;^as  of 
rocks.  .Tho  rattle  snake  und  llio  copper  head  uro  the  mest  numerous 
and  dangerous.  The  Htreanis,  and  esiKJcially  those  that  comtnuiiiciiii; 
with  Luke  Micliifran,  arc  abundant  in  fish ^of  the  best  (pialities.  The 
number  and  excellence  of  the  fish,  and  the  ease,  with  which  they  arc  taki^n. 
arc  circumstances  of  real  importance  and  advanta;,'e  to  iho  first  settlers, 
and  help  to  sustain  thctn,  until  they  are  enabled  to  subsist  by  the  avaiU 
of  cultivation. 

Minerals  and  Fossils.  There  arc  salt  springs  in  dilTerent  parts  of  the 
state.  We  do  not  know,  that  any  of  them  are  worked  to  much  extent. 
The  salt  has  hitherto  been  ehielly  broujfht  from  tho  United  States'  Saliao. 
back  of  Shawneetown,  or  from  the  Salines  of  Kenhawa.  Stone  coal  ot 
the  best  quality  is  found  in  various  places.  Native  copper  has  been 
discovered  in  small  masses,  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  state.  Iron  ore 
is  also  found  in  some  places.  But  in  general  it  is  a  country  too  level  to 
be  a  mineral  one.  Although  from  the  first  seltlcment  of  the  country,  it 
has  been  asserted,  that  there  is  a  silver  jninc  near  Ouitanon. 

Antiquities.  This  state  once  possessed  a  numerous  Indian  population, 
Their  mounds,  sepulchres,  ruined  vilhiges,  the  sward  of  blue  grass,  which 
indicates  in  times  nearer,  or  remote,  the  position  of  an  Indian  village, 
their  implements  of  war  and  agriculture,  dug  up  by  the  spade,  or  turned 
up  by  the  plough,  strike  us  on  all  sides,  as  we  travel  through  this  state. 
They  can  not  but  excite  deep  and  serious  thoughts  in  a  reflecting  mind. 
French  traditions  relate,  that  an  exterminating  battle  took  place  in  a  spot, 
which  is  now  designated  by  two  or  three  small  mounds,  near  where  Fort 
Harrison  now  stands.  The  battle  was  fought  between  the  Indians  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  of  the  Wabash.  The  prize  of  conquest  was  the  lands, 
which  were  adjacent  to  the  field  of  battle.  A  thousand  warriors  fought 
on  each  side.  The  contest  commenced  with  the  sun,  and  was  fought  with 
all  the  barbarity  and  desperation  of  Indian  bravery.  The  Wabash 
warriors  were  victorious  with  seven  survivors;  and  the  vanquished  came 
off  with  only  five. 

Curiosities'  Like  Alabama  and  Tennessee,  this  state  abounds  with 
subterranean  wonders,  in  the  form  of  caves.    Many  have  been  explored^ 


"^-i 


INPIANA. 


385 


nnd  sonie  of  them  have  been  (Icscritioii.    One  ofthem  is  exteniively 
known  in  tlic  wostrrn  country  hy  the  nnme  of  *  the  Eptom  salts  cave.'' 

It  is  not  very  fnr  from  JrfVcrHonvillp.  Wht'ii  first  discovcrnH,  the  salta 
wore  represented  ns  iKnnpsoine  inelirs  deep  on  tlio  floor.  The  interior  of 
this  ciivc  posj^eHses  the  iisuni  domes  and  chnmt)crs  of  extensive  caverns, 
throiipli  which  the  visitant  f?rnj)i<H  a  distan'-c  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter  to  the 
*pillnr,Mvhich  is  a  splendid  cohimn,  15  feet  in  diameter,  and  25  feet 
liijjli,  regularly  reeded  from  top  to  bottom.  Near  it  are  smaller  pillars  of 
the  same  appearance. 

The  Halt  in  question  is  sometimes  found  in  liunps  varying  from  one  to 
ten  pounds.  The  floor  and  walls  are  covered  with  it  in  the  form  of  a 
frost,  which  when  removed,  is  8|)ecdily  reproduced.  The  earth  yields 
from  four  to  "Zii  pounds  to  the  bushel ;  and  the  product  is  snid  to  be  of  the 
best  quality.  Nitre  is  also  found  in  the  cave  in  great  abundance,  and 
sulphate  of  lime,  or  plaistor  of  paris. 

Roads  and  Canals.  We  have  seen  that  the  state  has  laid  out  and 
rendered  passable  a  road  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Ohio  The 
national  road  is  laid  out,  and  some  part  of  it  made  through  the  state  from 
cast  to  west,  iiHSsin":  through  Indianopolis.  Tlie  common  roads  are  in 
j^ood  passable  condition  during  the  summer.  But  in  winter,  and 
especially  during  rainy  weather,  they  are  excessively  deep  and  heavy. 
Regular  ferries  arc  now  established  across  the  the  rivers  at  all  the  import- 
ant points  of  travel  The  project  of  a  rail  road  from  the  Ohio  to  Lake 
Michigan  has  been  discussed.  None  of  the  western  states,  from  the 
the  configuration,  to  which  we  have  adverted,  possess  greater  facilities  of 
making  canals;  as  great  numbers  of  the  small  lakes  communicate  at 
present  with  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  from  one  extremity,  and  with  Lake 
Michigan  from  the  other,  and  require  only,  that  the  communications 
should  be  deepened  to  become  natural  canals. 

A  canal  has  been  projected  by  the  state,  after  a  long  discussion  of 
two  or  three  legislative  sessions,  entitled  the  Wabash  and  Erie  Canal.  It 
is  intended  to  connect  by  the  Big  Miami,  and  the  Dayton  Canal,  with 
Lake  Erie.  Funds  have  been  provided  for  making  it;  but,  owing  to 
some  division  of  opinion  respecting  the  comparative  utility  of  canals  and 
rail  roads,  the  excavation  has  not  yet  been  commenced. 

Seminaries.  Indiana  College  at  Bloomington,  commenced  in  1828. 
As  early  as  1804,  the  then  territorial  government  of  Indiana  incorporated 
what  was  called  the  university  of  Vincennes.  A  brick  building  was 
erected,  and  the  university  figured  for  some  years  in  the  statutes  of 
legislation.  When  the  territory  became  a  state,  a  township  of  land  to  be 
selected  by  the  president  of  the  United  States,  was  appropriated  to  this 
institution,  in  addition  to  the  township  already  owned.    The  new  town- 

49 


*%: 


•T^S 


^ 

« 


a8« 


INDIANA. 


ship  was  selected  bj  tlie  president,  near  Bloomington.  The  original 
title  of  the  college  was  changed,  and  the  brick  edifice  sold.  It  then  took 
the  name  of  Indiana  College.  In  1829  it  received  an  efficient  organiza- 
tion under  a  learned  president,  with  two  professors  aud  a  tutor.  The 
number  of  students  is  about  GO.  '"^ho  seat  of  the  college  is  a  delightful 
village  central  to  a  healthful  and  fertile  country.  A  thorough  classical 
education  is  imparted  at  an  expense  as  moderate,  as  in  any  other  similar 
seminary  in  the  union.  .',,'. 

Hanover  Academy  was  established  at  Hanover,  six  miles  below  Madison 
on  the  Ohio,  in  1827.  It  is  chiefly  intended  as  a  Presbyterian  theological 
school,  and  is  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Indiana.  It  has  an 
endowment  in  land,  and  the  system  of  manual  labor  is  contemplated.  It 
is  intended  that  the  expenses  of  board  and  tuition  shall  be  but  thirty 
dollars  a  year.  It  has  22  students,  18  of  whom  are  preparing  for  the 
ministry.  Some  other  institutions  of  education  exist,  called  academies; 
and  high  schools  are  in  contemplation  in  difterent  parts  of  this  rapidly 

advancing  state. 

A  historical  society  has  recently  been  formed,  the  object  of  which,  is  to 

investigate  the  antiquities  of  the  country,  and  preserve  the  materials  for 

the  annals  and  history   of  the  state.     A  respectable  library  has  already 

been  collected,  and  the   society  bids   fair  to  be  efficient  in  furnishing 

documents  of  practical  utility  in  furthering  its  objects. 

That  spirit  of  regard  for  schools,  religious  societies  and  institutions, 
connected  with  them,  which  has  so  honorably  distinguished  the  commenc- 
ing legislation  of  Ohio,  has  displayed  itself  in  this  state.  There  are 
districts,  no  doubt,  where  people  have  but  just  made  beginnings,  and  are 
more  anxious  about  carrying  on  the  first  operations  of  making  a  new 
establishment,  than  educating  their  children.  But  it  ought  to  be  recorded 
to  the  honor  of  the  people,  that  among  the  first  public  works  ii.  an  incip- 
ient village,  is  a  school  house,  and  among  the  first  associations,  that  for 
establishing  a  school.  Schools  are  established  in  all  the  considerable  towns 
and  villages  in  the  state.  In  many  of  the  more  compact  there  is  a  reading 
room,  and  a  social  library.  The  spirit  of  enquiry,  resulting  from  our  free 
institutions,  is  pervading  the  country,  and  a  thirst  for  all  kinds  of  infor- 
mation is  universal.  This  state  will  soon  take  a  high  place  among  her 
sister  states,  in  point  of  population..  It  is  hoped  that  her  advance  in 
intellectual  improvement,  and  social  and  religious  institutions  will  be  in 
corresponding  proportion. 

Constitution  and  Government.  This  state  was  admitted  into  the  Union 
in  1816.  The  constitution  does  not  differ  essentially  from  that  of  the 
other  western  states.  Where  it  does  differ,  it  is  in  having  a  more  popular 
form  ihan  the  rest.    The  governor  is  elected  for  three  years;  and  is 


% 


tlVDIANA. 


387 


^lioibie  six  years  out  of  nine.     The  judiciary  is  corapo^isd  of  a  supremo 
and  circuit  courts. 

The  judges  of  the  supreme  court  arc  Appointed  by  the  governor,  and 
have  appellate  jurisdiction.  The  circuit  courts  are  to  be  held  by  one 
judge  and  two  associates — the  former  to  be  appointed  by  the  legislature, 
and  the  latter  by  the  people ;  all  to  be  held  for  the  term  of  seven  years. 
All  free  white  males,  of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  of  the  United 
States,  are  admitted  to  the  elective  franchise. 

History.    The  country  on  the  Wabash  was  early  visited  by  French 
traders,  or  hunters  from  Canada.     The  settlement  of  Vincennes,  dates 
back  as  far  as  1702.     The  first  settlement  was  composed  of  soldiers  of 
Louis  XIV.     They  were,  for  more  than  an  age  almost  separated  from  the 
rest  of  mankind ;  and  had,  in  many  respects,  assimilated  with  the  savages, 
with  whom  they  intermarried.     In  the  time  of  the  American  revolution, 
they  manifested  a  disposition   so  unequivocally  favorable  to  it,  that  the 
general  government  ceded  to  them  a  tract  of  land  about  Vincennes,  at  the 
close  of  that  war.     The  sparse  population  in  this  then  wilderness,  suffered 
severely  from  the  savages,  until  the  peace,  which  was  restored  by  the 
treaty  at  Greenville.     The  Indians  still  owned  the  greater  portion  of  the 
territorial  surface.     In  the  year  181 1,  in  consequence  of  their  depredations 
and  murders,  a  military  force  was  sent  against  them;  and  they  were  defea- 
ted, and  compelled  to  sue  for  peace.  The  bloody  battle  of  Tippicanoe  has 
already  been  mentioned.     Since  the  peace  they  have  been  quiet,  and  have 
ceded  the  greater  part  of  their  lands  to  the  United  States.     In  1801,  Indi- 
ana was  erected  into  a  territorial  government.     During  the  late  war  the 
tide  of  immigration  was  almost  completely  arrested.     Many  of  the  settle- 
ments were  broken  up  by  the  savages.     Immediately  on  the  termination 
of  that  war, the  fide  set  strongly  again,  through  Ohio,  to  this  state;  and 
population  poured  in  upon  the  woods  and   prairies.      It  has  since  been 
filling   up  with    almost   unexampled    rapidity.       It    suffered   severely 
along  with  the  other  western  states  by  the  change  of  times,  that  ocurred 
after  the  close  of  the  war.     The   sa)ne  foolish,  or  iniquitous  system 
of  spurious  banks,  or  relief  laws,  ^^as  adopted  here  as  in  the  state  farther 
west;  and  with  the  same  results.     The  bank  of  New  Lexington  was  a 
notorious  scheme  of  iniquity ;  and  was  one  of  the  first  bubbles,  that  burst 
in  this  young  community.     Though  the  people  did  not  immediately  take 
warning,  they  were  among  the  first,  that  discarded  all  the  ridiculous 
temporizing  expedients  of  relief,  and  restored  a  sound  circulation. 

If  we  could  prevent  a  scenic  map  of  (his  state, exhibiting  its  present  con- 
dition, it  would  present  us  a  gr  and  and  interesting  view  of  deep  forests, 
wide  and  flowering  prairies,  dotted  with  thousands  of  log  cabins;  and  in 
the  villages,  brick  houses  rising  beside  them.     We  should  see  chasms  cut 


f^ 


388 


INDIANA. 


out  of  the  forests  in  all  directions.  We  should  note  thousands  of  dead 
trees  surrounding  the  incipient  establishments.  On  the  edges  of  the  prai- 
ries, we  should  remark  cabins,  or  houses,  sending  up  their  smokes.  V/e 
should  see  vast  droves  of  cattle,  ruminating  in  the  vicinity  of  these  estab- 
lishments in  the  shade.  There  would  be  a  singular  blending  of  nature 
anl  art;  and  to  give  interest  to  the  scene,  the  bark  hovels  of  the  Indians, 
in  many  places,  would  remain  intermixed  with  the  habitations  of  the 
whites.  But  the  most  pleasing  part  of  the  picture  would  be  to  see  inde- 
pendent and  respectable  yeoman  presiding  over  these  great  changes.  The 
young  children  would  be  seen  playing  about  the  rustic  establishments; 
full  fed  and  happy,  sure  presages  of  the  numbers,  healthfulness  and  inde- 
penf'snce  of  the  coming  generation.  ; 

Therevenueof  the  state  for  1831  is  103,432  dollars;  the  expenditure 
is  37,765.  Deduct  the  canal  and  Indianopolis  fund  28,164 ;  and  there 
will  remain  a  balance  in  the  treasury  in  favor  of  the  state. 


-  -K 


I.   t  ,. 


1     .1 


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TT--— 

.^i^^y-'  •.,  #^ 

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■  .'* 

'•ni'f.'..-ii..' 

■  >i  ■ ' 

'  1 

1)1  >  i.Ti'.id":- 

r^'i 

-"V' 

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U,    ,*-VV 


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•■i>r 


«i.. 


# 


OHIO. 


Length,  210  miles.  Mean  breadth,  200  miles,  containing  40,000 
square  miles,  and  25,000,000  acres.  Between  38°  30'  and  41°  19'  N, 
latitude;  and  between  3°  31'  and  7°  41'  West  from  Washington.  Bounded 
on  the  North  by  the  territory  of  Michigan,  and  Lake  Erie ;  East  by 
Pennsylvania,  South-east  by  Virginia,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  the 
Ohio;  South  by  the  Ohio,  which  separates  it  from  Virginia  and  Kentucky  j 
and  West  by  Indiana. 


Distances  f  torn  Columbus. 

101  miles. 

110 

191 

73 

124 

104 

101 

50 

43 

109 

67 

152 

84 

69 

138 

103 

23 

28 


■V 

CIVIL   DIVISIONS. 

Counties. 

County  Toums. 

Adams, 

West  Union,            • 

Allen, 

Wassahkonnetta, 

Ashtabula, 

Jefferson, 

Athens, 

Athens, 

Belmont, 

St.  Clairsville,       ^ 

Brown, 

Greorgetown, 

Butler, 

Hamilton, 

Champaign, 

Urbana, 

Clarke, 

Springfield, 

Clermont, 

Batavia, 

Clinton, 

Wilmington, 

Columbiana, 

New  Lisbon, 

Coshocton, 

Coshocton, 

Crawford, 

Bucyrus, 

Cuyahoga, 

Cleaveland, 

Drake, 

Greenville, 

Delaware, 

Delaware, 

.    Fairfield, 

Lancaster, 

*.. 


•^ 


m>.- 


390 


OHIO. 


Fayette, 

Washington,  C.  H. 

45 

Franklin, 

Columbus, 

■ 

Gallia, 

Galliopolis, 

108 

Geauga, 

Claridon, 

157 

Greene> 

Xenia, 

57 

Guernsey, 

Cambridge, 

83 

Hamilton, 

Cincinnati, 

112 

Hancock, 

Findlay, 

114 

Hardin, 

Hardy, 

66 

Harrison, 

Cadizt 

124 

Henry, 

Damascus, 

161 

Highland, 

Hillsboro, 

74 

Hocking, 

Logan, 

47 

Holmes^ 

Millersburgh, 

80 

Huron, 

Norwalk, 

113 

Jackson, 

Jackson,  C.  H. 

74 

Jefferson^ 

Steubenville, 

149 

Knox, 

Mount  Vernon y 

45 

Lawrence, 

Burlington, 

135 

Licking, 

Newark, 

S4 

Logan, 

Bellefontaine, 

62 

Lorain, 

Elysia,. 

130 

Madison, 

London, 

37 

Marion, 

Marion, 

47 

Medina, 

Medina,  C.  H. 

111 

Meigs, 

Chester, 

94 

Mercer 

Saint  Mary's, 

111 

Miami^ 

Troy, 

78 

Monroe, 

Woodsfieldy 

140 

Montgomery, 

Dayton, 

66 

Morgan, 

McConnelsville, 

70 

Muskingum, 

Zanesville, 

59 

Paulding, 

Perry, 

Somerset, 

46 

Pickaway, 

Circleville, 

26 

Pike, 

Piketon, 

65 

Portage, 

Ravenna, 

127 

Preble, 

Eaton, 

92 

Putnam, 

Sugar  Grove, 

148 

Richland, 

Mansfield, 

71. 

Ross, 

Chillicothe, 

45 

Suiulusky, 

Lower  Sandusky, 

IPS 

% 


OHIO* 


391 


^t 


01 

85 

86 

116 

157 

107 

37 

146 

83 

106 

86 

175 

135 


Scioto,  Portsmouth, 

Seneca,  ...      Tiffin, 

Shelby,  '.^      Sidney, 

Stark,  Canton, 

Trumbull,  Warren, 

Tuscarawas,  New  Philadelphia, 

Union,  Marysville, 

Van  Wert,  Willshire, 

Warren,  Lebanon, 

Washington,  Marietta, 

Wayne,  Wooster, 

Williams,  Defiance, 

Wood,  Perrysburgh, 

The  census  of  1830,  gives  the  population  of  this  state  as  follows : 
whites,  928,093.    Other  persons,  9,586.    Total,  937,679. 

Face  of  the  country.    There  is,  probably,  no  where  in  the  world  a  body 
of  land,  of  the  same  extent,  of  which  a  greater  proportion  is  susceptible 
of  cultivation.    It  may  be  considered  a  surface  of  table  land,  sloping  in 
one  direction  towards  the  Ohio,  and  in  the  other,  towards  Lake  Erie.  The 
northern  belt  has  great  tracts  of  wet  and  marshy  soil.     They  are,  however, 
excellent,  and  in  positions  that  render  them  easy  to  be  drained.    They 
are  covered  with  forests,  and  when  cleared,  and  drained,  will  not  make 
the  least  valuable  parts  of  the  state.     There  are  extensive  bodies  of  lands 
heavily  timbered  in  a  state  of  nature,  which  are  as  level  as  prairies.    The 
most  fertile  part  of  the  state  is  between  the  two  Miamies.     On  the  upper 
courses  of  the  Miamies,  Muskingum  and  Scioto,  are  rich  and  extensive 
prairies,  divided  into  wet  and  dry  prairies,  of  which  the  latter  only  are  at 
present  susceptible  of  cultivation.     The  forest  trees  are  the  same  as  in 
Kentucky  and  Indiana,  except,  that  the  peccan  tree,  which  is  common  on 
the  waters  of  the  Wabash,  is  not  often  found  here.  The  forests  are  deep,  but 
in  the  richest  soils,  the  trees  are  rather  distinguishable  for  their  straight* 
ness,  than  their  size..     A  considerable  part  of  the  eastern  and  south 
eastern  divisions  is  hilly;  in  some  places  rising  into  fine  cultivable 
swells;  and  in  other  places  into  hills,  too  broken  and  precipitous  to  admit 
cultivation.    The  most  marshy  parts  are  found  on  the  table  lands,  the 
highest  in  the  state.     But  nine-tenths  of    the    surface    are   suscep- 
tible of  cultivation,  and  are  already,  or  are  rapidly  becoming  a  thickly 
settled  country  of  moderate  sized  freeholds.     One  remark  may  convey  a 
general  idea  of  the  forest.      It  is,  as  in  Indiana  and  Illinois,  composed 
almost  entirely  of  deciduous  trees,  with  few  evergreens,  or  terebinthine 
trees,  if  we  except  some  few  cypress  trees.    On  its  whole  wide  surface, 
js  scarcely  any  land  so  hilly,  sterile,  or  marshy,  as,  with  moderate  labor, 


.*     ,^i' 


# 


4? 


.-592 


OHIO. 


■i 


may  not  be  sub'lued,  drained  and  cultivated.  The  whole  region  seems  to 
have  invited  a  hardy  and  numerous  body  of  freeholders  to  select  themselvos 
moderate,  and  nearly  ecjual  sized  farms,  and  to  intersperse  ihnm  over  its 
surface.  In  respect  to  the  smallncss  of  the  farms,  the  number,  equality, 
and  compactness  of  the  population,  not  confined,  as  farther  west,  to 
the  water  courses,  but  diffused  over  the  whole  state,  it  compares  very 
accurately  with  New  England. 

To  an  eye  that  could  contemplate  the  whole  region  from  an  elevated 
point,  it  would  even  yet  exhibit  a  great  proportion  of  unbroken  forest, 
only  here  and  there  chequered  with  farms.  Yet  in  the  county 
towns,  and  better  settled  districts,  any  spectacle,  that  collects  the  multi- 
tude, a  training,  an  ordination,  an  chction,  or  the  commencement  of  any 
great  public  work,  causes  a  rush  from  the  woods  and  the  forests,  which, 
like  the  tenanted  trees  of  the  poets  in  the  olden  time,  seem  to  have  given 
birth  for  the  occasion  to  crowds  of  men,  women  and  children,  pouring 
towards  the  point  of  attraction.  There  are  vast  tracts  of  coimtry  that 
are  actually  alluvial,  and  in  fact  the  greater  part  has  an  alluvial  aspect,  as 
though  it  had  not  long  since  emerged  from  the  waters. 

It  has  been  asserted,  and  commonly  believed,  that  springs  dry  up,  and 
fail,  as  a  new  country  becomes  settled. 

Many  of  the  oldest  and  most  intelligent  settlers,  resolutely  deny  the 
jkassertion,  and  affirm  the  direct  contrary ;  declaring,  that  the  streams  in 
^neral  are  more  flush  in  the  cleared  and  settled  country,  than  they  were 
when  it  was  an  unbroken  furest.  In  proof,  they  point  ttut  many  streams, 
which  then  became  dry  in  summer,  and  now  yield  sufficient  water  to  turn 
mills,  through  the  season.  This  is  one  of  those  disputable,  points  which 
is  apt  to  be  settled  differently  according  to  the  experience  and  opinions  of 
the  party.  It  certainly  involves  one  of  the  most  interesting  questions  in 
relation  to  the  influence  of  cultivation  upon  climate,  a  question  which 
ought  to  have  been  more  elucidated  by  the  settling  of  the  western  country, 
than  any  other;  but  which  has  hitherto  been  discussed  in  a  desultory  and 
unsatisfying  manner.  Forests  are  supposed  to  condense  vapors,  and 
attract  clouds.  Clearing  them  away  gives  more  free  scope  to  the  winds, 
and  tends  to  equalize  atmospheric  action.  Cultivation  renders  the 
surface  of  the  soil  more  compact,  and  retentive  of  moisture;  and  we 
incline  to  the  opinion,  that  the  western  streams  are  fuller  and  more 
lasting,  since  the  cutting  down  of  the  forests,  and  that  the  Ohio  and 
Mississippi  carry  more  water,  than  formerly.  But  the  experience  of 
almost  every  old  settler  warrants  the  fact,  that  innumerable  springs  have 
failed  since  the  cutting  down  of  the  forests,  that  shaded  the  hills,  whence 
they  sprung.    This  partial  result  may,  however,  be  more  than  counter- 


rtlllO, 


393 


balanced  by  a  <,vi\eial  clian^re  in  atmospliciic  action,  consequent  upon 
oppninf,'  vast  surfaces  of  tlic  forest  to  the  iiiJiiicncc  of  the  sun  and  air. 

The  forest  of  lliis  state  is  generally  doej)  and  heavy.  The  prevalent 
kinds  of  trees  are,  the  dillcjrent  species  of  oak,  white,  red  and  black,  burr 
and  overcup;  three  or  fcjiir  species  of  ash,  white,  blue  and  black;  yellow 
and  white  poplar;  all  the  dilfercnt  species  of  hickories,  especially  black 
and  white  walnut;  three  species  of  ehn,  huckberry,  buck-eye,  linn,  and 
foffee  tree.  White  maple  is  conimun,  and  sugar  maple  of  great  beauty, 
almost  universal.  Beech,  however,  is  the  most  common  timber.  The 
undergrowth  is  spicebush,  dogwood,  iron  wood,  horn  beam,  black  haw, 
pawpaw,  different  species  of  thorn,  and  wild  plum. 

Unimproved  land  rates  from  two  to  eight  dtdlurs  per  acre,  according 
to  situation  and  (piality;  improved  land,  from  five  to  twenty  dollars, 
according  to  the  improvement,  situation  and  quality. 

Agricidtuml  proiJuctions,  Every  production  common  to  the  climate 
is  raised  here  in  great  abundance.  Without  having  the  appearance  of  be- 
ing as  rich,  as  the  lands  in  some  parts  (jf  Illinois  and  Missouri,  the  soil,  in 
this  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  is  found  by  oxperiment  to  bo  remarka- 
bly productive.  To  be  able  to  judge  of  the  extent  and  power  of  vegeta- 
tion, one  must  reside  in  the  state  through  the  summer,  and  observe  with 
what  luxuriance  and  rai)i(lity  the  vegetable  creation  is  pushed  on,  how 
rapidly  the  vines,  grain,  and  fruits  grow,  and  what  a  depth  of  verdure  the 
forest  assumes.  Inilian  corn  is  the  staple  of  the  grains,  and  is  no  where 
raised  more  easily,  or  in  greater  abundance.  On  rich  alluvial  soils  110 
bushels  have  been  produced  from  an  acre;  though  fifty  may  be  consider- 
ed an  average  crop.  The  state  generally  has  a  fine  soil  for  wheat.  Rye, 
barley,  oats,  spelts,  buckwheat,  and  all  the  grains  are  raised  in  great 
abundance  and  perfection.  Melons,  squashes,  jjumpkins,  the  pulses,  gar- 
den vegetables,  both  bullions  and  lap  rooted,  as  potatoes,  onions,  beets,  car- 
rots, parsnips,  and  generally  garden  and  culinary  vegetables  are  raised  in 
great  perfection.  The  soil,  being  more  stiff,  clayey,  and  fitted  to  retain 
moisture,  than  the  soils  farther  west,  makes  the  best  gardens.  We  have 
no  where  seen  so  fine  asparagus  in  the  west,  as  in  the  markets  of  this 
state.  Fruits  of  all  kinds  are  raised  in  the  greatest  profusion;  and  apples 
are  as  plenty  in  the  cultivated  parts  of  the  state,  as  in  any  part  of  the 
Atlantic  country.  The  markets  are  amply  supplied  with  pears,  peachesy 
plums,  cherries,  gooseberries,  strawberries,  and  cultivated  grapes.  In  a 
few  years  this  state  will  take  i)lacc  of  any  in  the  Union,  in  the  abundance 
and  excellence  of  its  fruits  of  all  kinds.  From  the  fulness  and  richness 
of  the  clusters  of  cultivated  grapes,  it  is  clear,  that  this  ought  to  be  a 
country  of  vineyards.    The  Germans  have  already  made  a  few  establish- 


■It: 


^    * 


'H^  • 


i^ 


■/-/ 


>H» 


onto. 


menta  of  the  kind,  with  entire  success.  Apricots,  nectarines,  and  quinco<:, 
succeed;  and  this  state  is  the  appropriate  empire  of  Pomona.  Re- 
cently, tobacco  has  been  added  to  the  articles  cultivated.  The  qiinliiy 
and  flavor  are  .such  as  to  Avarrant  the  expectation,  that  it  will  shortly  he  3 
principal  article  of  export.  Yellow  tobacco,  which  benrs  a  price  so  much 
higher,  than  any  other  kind,  has  been  found  to  prosper  remarkably.  Hemp 
is  an  article  of  cultivation  in  some  parts  of  the  state.  Agricultural  im- 
provement, however,  proceeds  with  slow  pace.  The  people,  generally, 
are  not  at  all  given  to  experiment;  and  continue  to  farm  in  the  old  and 
beaten  routine.  No  part  of  the  western  country  calls  more  imperiously 
for  agricultural  improvement;  for  this  state  begins  to  be  thickly  settled, 
and  naturally  to  invite  efforts  to  improve  the  cultivation.  Intelligent  and 
patriotic  men  are  making  great  exertions  to  introduce  the  cultivation  of 
the  vine,  and  mulberry;  that  wine  and  silk  may  be  added  to  the  articlesof 
production.  These  states,  that  are  so  far  from  a  foreign  market,  and 
whose  bulky  articles  are  so  expensive  in  transportation,  ought  to  use  eve- 
ry exertion  to  introduce  a  cultivation,  that  would  have  more  value  in  a 
smaller  compass.  Besides  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines,  this  state  produces  a 
great  abundance  of  indigenous  productions,  that  are  useful  in  medicine. 
We  may  mention  actea  racemosa,  squaw  roof,  Virginia  snake  root,  In- 
dian turnip,  ginseng,  which  is  dug  in  considerable  quantities,  as  an  arti- 
cle of  commerce,  Colombo,  lobelia,  valerian,  blood  root,  or  sanguinaria 
canadensis,  and  various  other  herbaceous  medicinal  plants. 

Rivers.  Under  this  head  we  shall  describe  the  noble  and  beautiful 
river,  that  gives  name  to  the  state.  If  the  Mississippi  has  more  grandeur. 
the  Ohio  has  clearly  more  beauty.  If  the  Mississippi  rolls  along  its  angry 
and  sweeping  waters  with  more  majesty,  the  Ohio  far  exceeds  it  in  its  calm, 
unbroken  course,  which  seldom  endangers  the  boats  on  its  bosom,  except 
there  be  mismanagement,  or  storms.  No  river  in  the  world  rolls  for  the 
same  distance  such  an  uniform,  smooth  and  peaceful  current.  Its  bluffs 
and  bottoms  have  a  singular  configuration  of  amenity,  or  grandeur. 
Sometimes  lofty  bluffs,  300  feet  in  height,  impend  the  river  and  cast  their 
grand  shadows  into  the  transparent  waters.  On  the  other  side  are  fine 
bottoms,  generally  above  the  overflow,  and  covered  with  beautiful  forest 
trees,  among  which  rises  the  venerable  sycamore,  the  king  of  the  forests; 
80*8  throws  its  white  arms  over  the  other  trees.  Whoever  has  descended 
this  noble  river  in  spring,  when  its  banks  are  full,  and  the  beautiful  red 
bud,  and  cdmus  Florida,  deck  the  declivities  of  the  bluffs,  and  are  seen 
at  intervals  in  the  bottoms;  or  in  the  autumn,  when  the  leaves  are  all 
turning  yellow,  will  readily  allow  the  appropriateness  of  the  French  name 
*  la  belle  riviere.^ 


« 


">t 


^* 


OHIO.  'fit 

It  is  a  river  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monongafcela 
at  Pittsburgh.     The  highest  sources  of  the  Alleghany  river,  are  in  Potter 
rounty,  Pennsylvania,  twelve  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Coudcrsport,  where 
they  mterlock  witii  the  head  waters  of  Gcnessee  river,  and  the  east  and 
west  branches  of  the  Susqiiehannah.     From  Coudersport  it  holds  a  north- 
westwardly course  twenty  miles,  during  which  it  is  augmented  by  several 
streams,  and  then  enters  the  state  of  New  York.     Three  miles  above  the 
New  York  line,  it  receives  Orway  Creek,  a  considerable  stream  from  the 
east,  and  five  miles  farther,  Oil  Creek  from  the  north;  and  then  passes  the 
settlement  of  Hamilton.     It  thence  holds  a  west  course  fifteen  miles,  and 
receives  the  Tunuanguanta  Creek  from  the  south.     Here  it  bends  to  the 
north  seven  miles,  and  receives  Greatvalley  Creek  from  the  north.    It 
thence  bends  to  the  southwest,  and  after  a  course  of  twenty-five  miles, 
passes  again  into  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  and  winding  southwest  re- 
ceives the  Connewongo  from  the  north,  at  the  town  of  Warren.     It  thence 
holds  a  west  course  seven  miles,  and  receives  the  waters  of  Brokenstraw 
Creek,  from  the  west.     It  thence  curves  southwest  thirty  miles,  and  re- 
ceives the  Teonista,  from  the  east.     Twenty  miles  farther  west,  it  re  -eives 
Oil  Creek  from  the  north ;  and  seven  miles  farther  French  Creek,  frou  the 
north  west.     By  this  stream  it  has  a  communication  with  Lake  Erie.    It 
now  assumes  a  south-east  course,  and  thirty  miles  farther  receives  the 
waters  of  Toby's  Creek,  an  important  stream,  which  extends  100  miles 
into  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania.     Retaining  the  same  course  thirty  miles, 
it  receives  Red  Bank  and  Mahoning  Creeks.      Passing  Kittanning  and 
Crooked  Creek,  twenty-four  miles  farther,  it  receives  the  waters  of  the 
Kiskimmitas. 

This  river  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Conemaugh  and  Loyalhanna 
Rivers,  which  rise  near  the  Alleghany  mountains,  100  miles  distant. 
Below  this  point  the  Alleghany  continues  a  south-west  course,  about 
thirty-five  miles,  and  reaches  Pittsburgh,  where  it  unites  with  the 
Monongahela.  The  former  river,  though  it  has  not  a  volume  apparently 
wider  than  the  other,  is  by  far  the  most  important  tributary  of  the  Ohio. 
It  has  a  swift  sweeping  and  rapid  current;  and  often  a  rocky  bottom, 
whence  huge  rocks  rise  to  the  surface  of  the  water.  When  it  is  full  in 
the  spring,  flat  and  keel  boats  descend  it  rapidly,  and  without  danger. 
It  has  been  navigated  by  steam  boats;  but  is  one  of  the  most  difiici]lt 
currents  to  stem,  which  that  kind  of  boats  has  yet  attempted  to  vanquish. 

Monongahela  River,  the  other  important  branch  of  the  Ohio,  rises  in 
Virginia,  seventy  miles  north-west  of  Morgantown.  Twelve  miles  north 
of  Morgantown,  it  passes  into  Pennsylvania ;  and  a  few  miles  farther 
receives  the  waters  of  Cheat  River  from  the  east.  Seventy  miles  farther 
it  receives  the  waters  of  the  Youghiogeny  River,  or  as  it  is  commonly 


i^ 


396 


OHIO. 


called  tlie  Yougli,  the  most  important  liranch  of  iIk;  IMonon^'uliilfi, 
rising  near  the  upper  wnfcrH  (»f  tho  PotoniHc,  srpnratcil  only  by  !i  spur  of 
the  mountains.  From  the  wcstorn  <U'rlivi)y  of  tlicsf  tiiotinlainH,  lioib 
this  and  the  main  river  iccivo  a  frrcat  accession  of  nioiintain  strcntns. 
The  united  stream  iiiiH  now  Ikh-oiuo  Itroad  and  majcstir.  It  flowa  in  a 
north-west  course  to  Piffsljurj^h,  and  wlirre  it  unites  with  llic  All<';.'iianv, 
is  more  than  4t)0  yards  wide.  Tlin  Oliio  at  thn  jntiction  is  sorncthinfj 
more  than  tiOO  yards  wide,  nnd  iinrncdiatc'ly  assumes  that  broad,  placid 
and  beautiful  nspct,  which  it  maintains  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississi))- 
pi.  Tho  Mononf,mhclii  traverses  a  rich  and  well  settled  coimtry,  noted 
for  its  whiskey,  flour,  iron  and  manufactures.  The  banks  are  often  bold 
and  high  bluffs,  and  in  some  places  the  country  is  hilly.  In  ff<iod  sliifjcs 
of  the  water,  it  is  beatable  by  larj/e  boats  100  miles  frouj  its  month. 
There  are  few  more  rural,  picturcsqe,  and  delightful  tracts  of  ceuntry  in 
the  United  States,  than  that  on  this  river. 

The  Ohio,  from  its  commencement,  allbrds  most  delifjhtfid  prospects. 
Rivers  of  romantic  and  beautiful  clianicter  come  in,  almost  at  ecuml 
distances,  as  lateral  canals.  Its  bottoms  are  of  e.xtraordiimry  depth  and 
fertility,*  generally  hi<,di  and  dry,  and  for  the  most  part  healthy;  while  tiio 
configuration  of  the  country  on  the  lianks  has  all  that  jirandeur,  softness, 
or  variety,  still  changing  and  recurring  in  such  combinations,  as  are 
requisite  to  destroy  a  monotonous  elfect.  For  thirty  miles  below  Pitts- 
burgh its  course  is  north-west.  It  then  slowly  turns  to  the  west  south-west, 
and  pursues  that  general  direction  500  mih^s.  Thence  south-west  170 
miles.  Thence  westward  2S0  miles.  Thence  south-west  170  mile?, 
through  that  low  and  swampy  country,  in  which  it  finds  the  Mississippi. 
Between  Pittsburgh  and  the  mouth,  it  is  diversified  with  100  considerable 
islands,  besides  a  greater  number  of  tow-heads,  and  sand  bars,  which  in 
low  stages  of  the  water,  greatly  impede  navigation.  Some  of  tlieso 
islands  are  of  exquisite  beauty,  and  all'ord  most  lovely  situations  for 
retired  farms.  The  passages  between  them,  and  the  sand  l);irs  at  their 
head  are  among  the  difficulties  of  the  navigation  of  this  river.  The  order 
of  the  entrance  of  the  creeks  and  rivers,  as  wc  descend,  is  as  fallows  : 
Chartier's  Creek,  4  miles  below  Pittsburgh,  from  tho  south.  Big  Beaver, 
30  miles,  from  the  north.  Little  Beaver,  42  miles  below,  from  the  north. 
Mill  Creek,  43,  from  the  south.  Big  Yellow  Creek  54  miles,  from  the 
north.  Crookton's  Run,  02,  from  the  north.  King's  Creek,  00,  from 
the  south.  Wills'  Creek,71,  from  the  north.  Harman's  Creek,  72,  from 
the  south.  One  mile  below  this  creek  is  the  large  and  flourishing  town  of 
Steubenville.  Indian  Cross  Creek,  75  miles,  north.  Virginia  Cross 
Creek,  76  miles,  south.  Indian  Short  Creek,  87  miles.  Virginia  Short 
Creek,  opposite  on  the  south.     Wheeling  Creek,  !U>  miles,  south.    Just 


% 


#-■ 


onto. 


307 


alH)VC  this  creek  is  llic  roiiiinerei;il  mihI  irnportiint  town  of  WhceliiiK. 
McMiilioii's  (.'reek,  south,  1(K)  iiiiU'S.     Liltlo  (irivo  Creek,  Houth,  10S« 
Biff  (iriive  Creek,  north.      Fish  Creek,  soiitli,  liJ3.      Fishing  Creek, 
south,  Un.     Stony  Creek,  north,  1(5*,'.     I-itthi  Muskingum,  north,  179. 
Muskingum,  north,  IN.'J.     At  the  nioutliof  this  river  is  tlio  eonsitUjrahlo 
town  of  Mnrietf!!.     F.iltle   Kenhnwa,  south,  1!)7.     Little  IIoekln)(king, 
north,  !2(»'I.     Big   IFoekhoeking,  north,  tilO.     Shiule  River,  north,  Vi'.il. 
Little  Sandy,  south,  'Jvi7.     IJig  Sandy,  south,  "i'M.     (ireat  Kenhuwu, 
south,  ilNJJ.      On  this  large  and  important  stream  are  the  most  extensive 
salt  works  in  tiie  western  country.     Little  (luyandottc,  south,  5J()7.     Big 
Guyinulottc,  south,  .'{'^7.      (Ireat  Sandy,  .south,  JML      Little  Sandy, 
south,  .'«H.     Little  Scioto,  north,  3H0.     Big  Scioto,  north,  3«.)0.     This 
is  a  very  important  river  of  Ohio.     On  its  hanks  are  extremely  rich  lands. 
The  piilitical  metropolis,  (j'olunihus,  is  sitiuited  on  it.     A  little  ahove  its 
nioulli  is  the  considcraMe  village  of  Portsmouth.     The  great  J'lrie  Canal 
is  to  enter  the  Ohio,  near  the  mouth  of  this  river.     The  former  capital  of 
Ohio,  Chillicotlie,  is  also  on  its  hanks.     Turkey  Oeek,  north,  31)5. 
Coneconc(|ue,  south,    lOL      Stout's  ilun,   north,   118.     Brush  Creek, 
south,  '121.     Sycamore  Creek,  south,  \2\.     Crooked  Creek,  south,  444. 
Lime  Stone  Creek,  south,  '15",J,     Just  helow  this  creek  is  the  large  and 
important  town  of   IVIaysville,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  accustomed 
landings  on  the  Ohio,     Eagle  Creek,  north,  4i\2.     Straight  Creek,  north, 
UJ8.    Bracken  Creek,  south,  472,     Bull  Skin  Creek,  nortli,  479.    Bear 
Creek,  north,  4HS,     Big  Indian  Creek,  north,  492.     Muddy  Creek,  north, 
503.    Little  Miami  River,  north,  510.      Crawfish  Creek,  north,  519, 
Deer  Creek,  north,  523.      Licking  River,  south,  524.     This  is  an  im- 
portant river  of  Kentucky,  entering  the  Ohio  hctwecn  Newport  and 
Covington,  and  ojjposite  Cincinnati.     Mill   Creek,  north,  52().     Cireat 
Miami,  north,  .551.     Laughery's  Creek,  north,  .5()2.     Gunpowder  Creek,, 
south,  575.     Big  Bone  Lick  Creek,  south,  5N3.     Kentucky  River,  south, 
()!2n.    Six  miles  ahovc   this,  on  the  o;)posite  shore,  is  Vevay,  and  the 
beautiful  Swiss  vineyards.     Little  Kentucky  River,  south,  ($28.     Bear 
Grass  Creek,  south,  70(>.     Just  helow  this  creek  is  the  important,  and 
commercial  town  of  Louisville,  and  the  only  considerahle  impediment  in 
the  navigation  of  the  Ohio  from  its  commencement  to  its  mouth.     This 
iinj)ec1iment  is  a  ledge  of  rocks,  extending  across  the  Ohio,  constituting  a 
considerahle  extent  of  rapids,  called  Mhe  Falls  of  Ohio.'     A  canal  round 
these  falls,  on  the  Kentucky  side  of   the  river,  a  work  of  immense  mag- 
nitude and  utility,  is  completed.     Salt  River,  south ,  730.     Falling  Spring, 
south,  751.     Indian,  or  Wyandot   Creek,  north,  775.     Big  Blue  River, 
north,  792.     Hardin's  Creek,  south,  8iS,     Anderson's  River,  north,  851. 
Blackford  Creek,  south,  864.    Green  River,  south,  925.     This  is  an  itn- 


-;  •'    I 


V 


tim 


OUIO, 


IH)rtiiiit  rivcT  of  Ki'Htucky.  Pi^reoii  Creek,  n  )rth,  OJiri.  Ili^jlilutul  Crwk, 
Hoiilli,  WA.  Wabauli,  north,  l,()OH.  Tliis  is  a  liiyc,  l)«:iii(irii|,  an,! 
iru|>orl;uU  rivor  of  Itnliaiiii.  Siliiic  Ilivrr,  iiorili,  l,()v!l.  Not  far  iil)((V(> 
lliis  (Tcrk  in  ShawiuH'towii,  a  cotisi'lcrahlc  villi^T  of  llliiioiH.  (in>:it 
ipiaiititirM  of  salt  aro  iiiaiiur.icliirt'il  on  lliis  crc»'k.  (Jrantl  I'icrrc  (.'rotik, 
north,  l,()H).  Cinnhirland  Hivcr,  Hoiilh,  l,(»7l.  Thisisa  very  hnpori- 
aiit  river  of 'rciiiicsHco  ami  KriilncKy.  'rrnni'SHCP,  sonlh,  1,(KH|.  Thij, 
is  hy  i'ar  th<>  l:M;,'esl,an(l  most  itnpoitiint  Irilmtary  oi'thc  Ohio.  It  watcrti 
ctmsidfralth-  exlrnis  of  Al.iliania,  Tt  nncssro  and  Kentucky.  Cash  River, 
north,  1,1 -MK     Month  of  tlic  Oliio,  l,l:W. 

It  should  he  ol)S(>rv(>d,  that  the  (hstaneed,  as  note<l  hy  the  pn^sent  stoiiin 
hoat  navi^rators,  make  the  whole  distance  from  PittshnrjOfh  to  the  month, 
fall  short  of  1,('(M)  miles.  It  is  true,  the  distances  havo  seemed  nnich 
nhort<'r,  since  they  havi;  heen  measnred  by  the  rapid  conrst;  of  the  sleam 
hoats.  Hut  we  apprehend,  when  meisnred  hy  tlu;  convex  aiiU;  of  the 
bends  of  the  river,  the  former  nteasureinent  will  Ik;  I'.mnd  nearer  the  exact 
truth,  than  the  latter.  We  may  add,  that  \\v  have  nut  included  in  tiic 
above  enumeration  more  than  half  the  numlier  of  hrenkH  through  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio,  by  the  entrant  e  of  (-reeks.  We  have  mentioiipd, 
liowcver,  the  prcater  numler  of  those,  that  preserve  ninninj,'  water 
thronjfh  the  sununer.  Of  the  above,  the  f  ilIowiii<j;  ar(^  important  rivers, 
and  all  navigalde,  in  moderate  (»r  hiuh  sla^res  of  water,  by  steam  boats 
for  considerable  distances,  viz:  Muskinjium,  (Ireal  Kerdiawa,  Big 
Sandy,  Scioto,  Great  Miami,  Kentucky,  (Jreen,  Wabash,  Ciunberland  and 
Tennessee.  The  three  hist  nre  important  in  the  order  of  their  standing. 
The  Ohio  at  Piltsbur>,di  is  ()(H)  yards  wijle.  At  Cincinnati,  wliich  may 
be  considered  its  mean  width,  it  is  not  much  nitire.  Below  the  Cumlier- 
hind  its  avera^je  width  is  1,()(M)  yards.  Its  valley  is  dei'p,  and  heavily 
timliercd,  and  has  no  where  the  sli;:;htest  indication  of  jjrairie.  It 
varies  from  two  to  ten  miles  in  width.  It  is  bounded  in  its  whole  course 
by  blulVs,  sonutimes  towering  sublimely  from  the  shores  of  the  river,  and 
sometimes  recediiijr  two  or  three  miles.  Beyond  the  immediate  verge  of 
the  bottom  is  a  singidar  line  of  hills,  more  or  less  precipitous,  stretching 
from  tive  to  ten  miles  from  the  banks.  They  are  known  on  the  Ohio  by 
tlie  familiar  appellation  of  the  'Ohio  hills.''  DilVerent  estimates  have  boon 
made  of  the  rapidity  of  its  current.  This  rapidity  being  rontionally 
varying,  it  would  be  ditFicult  to  assign  any  very  exact  estimate.  It  is 
found,  according  to  the  tlilVorent  stages  of  the  water,  to  vary  between  one 
and  three  miles.  In  the  lowest  stages  of  the  water  in  the  autumn,  a 
floating  substance  would,  probably,  not  advance  a  mile  an  hour.  It  is 
subject  to  extreme  elevations  an  1  depressions.  The  average  range 
between  high  and  lev  watrr,  is  fifty  feet.     Its  lowest  stage  is  in  Feptcnv 


OHIO. 


.Jl)U 


licr;  nnd  if"  hij^licst  in  Min  Ii  But  il  is  siil-jcct  to  hikMpii  nti<l  very 
cotifiilrrahlr  rises  llii«iii;:,'li  llic  vrar.  If  lias  Ihm-h  kintwii  l<»  rise  Iwrlvj; 
foot  in  n  iii,'»lil.  Wli-ii  tlicsc  siidili'ii  flrvidinn.s  lako  jjhicc,  n\  tin-  l>r«vikiiit( 
lip  ol'tlK' i<'«',  i»  HfC'iid  i>f  lii's  laliiifi  HDinctiliMM  "riMiis;  rinrl  Ixcils  mikI 
fvcry  tiling  in  ItH  (hhiisc  :in>  rtrrinl  nW'iy  l»jr  liio  !i»  cHMuiliitcil  |Mi\v»'r  of 
the  ire  nml  tlu'  uatiM-.  Ilsnvonifro  dcsrt'nt  in  r»  mil",  is  nut  I'lr  frotn  six 
iiiclH'H.  At  (^'in<iiui;iti,  tlH'surfair  of  Mi"  rivor  nt  low  W/il«'r,  is  siipposod 
to  be  IMO  ft'ot  iMilow  llif  l«!vi;l  <if  Lake  Km  ;  .ind  IMO  iiltnvc  tlnf  <»f  tlio 
tidfl  water  of  tlic  Atlauli".  H'lwccn  l*illsltiir;'li  and  tlic  iiiuiilli,  it  inak«  s 
three  iin'l  :•  li:ilf  ilc'^liiM's  ortioutliiii;,' in  lalilude.  The  it\('r:iy(.  time  of 
flic  9ns|)ensi«)nof  its  iiavi^'atioii  hy  ice,  is  live  W(>el\S.  One  liall'  of  llie 
remainder  of  the  year,  nii  mi  av(!ratj«i  it  is  ii  ivi^nhle  hy  l;ir;,'e  wtesini  hnats 
in  itswliidr  eonrse.  Tlie  other  half  it  can  he  navi^ritcd  oasdy  only  hy 
stoani  hoatsof  asrnall  drift  of  water.  Sine(<  thi;  Konisvillc  nnd  Portland 
(*!iii:d  has  h(<en  eoinpleted,  st(\iin  hoats  of  small  draft  can  desrend  at  all 
times  from  l*itlshiir<,di  to  the  Mississi|»j)i.  l''lat  and  keel  hoats  descend 
the  river  at  all  seasons;  hnt  in  periods  of  low  water  with  frecpient  «,'roniul- 
inps  on  the  sand  hars,  and  the  necessity  of  «)ften  nnloadin;,' to  ^'ef  the 
liont  otV.  It  wonid  he  ditlieidt  to  decide  when  the  Ohio  has  the  most 
lK'!MitifulnppearaiH>e,  in  the  sprin;:,  when  it  rolls  alon^'lietwecn  full  hanks, 
or  in  the  autumn,  when  l;el ween  the  ri|)ples  it  is  calm  nnd  still,  with  hroad 
nnd  clcin  stind  hars;  or  in  the  ripples,  where  its  transparent  waters  ^dide 
rapidly  <»ver  the  pi-hhly  and  shelly  hot  loin,  showinj,'  every  thiiifj,  as  thron^di 
the  transparency  of  iiir.  The  Ohio,  and  all  its  trihntaries  cannot  have 
less  than  5,000  miles  of  hontahle  waters;  and  faking  all  circumstances 
into  consideration,  few  rivers  in  the  world  can  vie  with  it  either  in  utility, 
or  beauty. 

TlicCireat  Miami  is  the  next  largest  and  most  interesting  river  of  this 
state.  It  rises  between  10°  and  11°  N.  latitude,  and  interlocks  with  the 
Massissineway  of  the  Wahasli,  and  the  St.  Mary's  and  An  filaize,  hranches 
of  the  Maumec,  and  the  Scioto.  It  flows  in  n  strong,  hut  generally  sniMUh 
and  unbroken  current,  and  has  a  valley  of  uncommon  width  and  fertility, 
though  sometimes  subject  to  inundation.  From  the  west  it  receives 
Loramic's  Creek,  which  enters  it  100  miles  above  its  mouth;  and  Still 
Water, 50  miles  below,  and  White  Wafer,  7  miles  above  its  junction  with 
the  Ohio.  Its  principal  eastern  branch  is  Mad  River,  which  rises  in  the 
northern  part  of  Logan  county,  traversing  that  county  and  Clark,  and 
the  north-west  corner  of  Green  county.  Its  general  direction  is  south- 
west; and  the  country  through  which  it  runs  is  singularly  fertile  and 
beautiful.  The  length  of  its  course  is  something  more  than  50  nules. 
It  enters  the  Miami  just  above  the  town  of  Dayton,  and  receives  its  name 


H^i^  '' 


400 


OHIO. 


from  lU  furious  and  broken  current.  Tlie  chief  branches  of  Mad  River 
are  East.  Fork  and  King's  Creek. 

Little  Mianii  rises  in  tlic  south-west  corner  of  Madison  county,  and  in 
a  south-west  direction  traverses  Clark,  Green,  Warren  and  Hamilton 
counties;  and  joins  the  Oliio  seven  miles  above  Cincinnati.  Tt  is  not  of 
much  imiKirtancc  as  a  navigable  stream ;  but  frouj  the  fertility  of  the  lands 
on  its  borders,  and  its  numerous  mill  seals,  it  is  a  river  of  great  utility. 
There  are  nearly  r)0  mills  on  it ;  some  of  lliein  paper  mills,  and  other  mills  of 
importance.  Its  principal  branches  are  East  Branch,  Shawnee,  Obannon, 
Turtle,  Todd's  Fork,  Ca;sar's  and  Massie's  (.'reeks  on  the  eastern  side; 
and  Goose  and  Beaver  Ci-eek  on  the  west.  An  hundred  miles  from  its 
mouth,  it  has  singular  rapids,  where  the  river  in  no  great  distance  falls 
200  feet.  The  stream  is  here  compressed  to  ten  yards  in  width.  Tlie 
country  between  the  Great  and  Little  Miami  is  generally  finely  watered, 
liealthy,  pleasant  and  fertile;  and  may  be  considered  the  garden  of  the 
state.     Its  C'lmmercial  intercourse  is  with  Cincinnati. 

In  advancing  towards  the  east  from  the  Little  Miami,  we  cross  Big 
Indian  Creek,  White  O.ik,  Straight,  Eagle,  Bull  Skin,  Brush,  and  Turkey 
Creeks.  The  Scioto  is  a  considerable  river  of  the  Ohio;  and  has  its 
whole  course  in  this  state.  It  rises  in  a  morass  north  of  Logan  county. 
Its  general  direction  is  south-east,  and  its  whole  course  little  short  of '^(H) 
miles.  It  enters  the  Ohio  by  a  mouth  !;")()  yards  wide,  and  is  navigable, 
in  good  stages  of  the  water,  130  miles.  Its  principal  branches  are  Whct- 
etone,  Big  Walnut,  Lower  Walnut,  and  Salt  Creeks,  from  the  east,  and 
Paint,  Deer,  Darby,  Mill  and  Baker's  Creeks,  from  the  west.  Not  far 
above  Columbus,  on  the  bank,  is  an  inexhaustible  (juarryof  free  stone,  or 
marble,  of  a  beautiful  grayish  color.  There  are  rich  and  beautiful  ])rai- 
ries  on  this  river;  and  its  valley  is  uncommonly  wide  and  fertile.  When 
it  was  first  settled  it  proved  to  be  extremely  sickly.  In  the  progress  of 
cultivation  that  character  has  passed  away;  and  the  Scioto  country  is  now 
among  the  most  fertile,  eligible,  and  pleasant  parts  of  the  state.  Colum- 
bus, the  political  capital  of  the  slate,  and  Chillicothe,  which  was  until 
recently  so,  are  on  this  river;  and  there  are  many  pleasant  villa^fes,  and 
much  well  settled  country  on  it  and  its  waters. 

The  country  between  the  Scioto  and  the  Muskingum  is  w-atered  by  tlie 
Great  Ilockhocking  and  its  waters.  It  enters  the  Ohio  150  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  and  is  navigable  for  boats  to  Athens,  40  miles 
from  its  mouth.  It  has  a  deep  and  still,  but  narrow  channel.  Near  its 
source,  7  miles  north  of  Lancaster,  is  a  romantic  cascade  of  40  feet 
perpendicular.  It  has  a  number  of  mills  erected  on  it.  Its  chief  tribu- 
taries are  Rush,  Sunday,  Monday,  Margaret's  and  Federal  Creeks. 


cs  of  Mail  River 

»  coiinly,  atid  in 

Ml  and  llainiltdn 

:ili.     [l  is  not  of 

tilily  of  the  lands 

of  great  utility. 

and  other  mills  of 

lawnee,  Obannon, 

the  eastern  side; 

ed  miles  from  its 

reat  distance  fulls 

in  width.     The 

ly  fmely  watered, 

the  garden  of  the 

imi,  we  cross  15ig 
Jriish,  and  Turkey 
)hio;  and  has  its 
)f  Logan  county, 
little  short  of  :i()0 
,  and  is  navigahlo, 
jranchcs  are  Whet- 
Vom  the  east,  and 
he  west.  Not  far 
ry  of  free  stone,  or 
nd  beautiful  prai- 
nd  fertile.  When 
In  the  progress  of 
oto  country  is  now 
he  state.  Colum- 
e,  which  was  until 
asant  villunfes,  and 

(1  is  w^atered  hy  tlic 
3  150  miles  above 
)  Athens,  40  miles 
channel.  Near  its 
iscadc  of  40  feet 
t.  Its  chief  tribu- 
leral  Creeks. 


.£»' 


OHIO. 


401 


The  Muskingum  rises  niear  the  sources  of  the  Cuyahoga  of  lake  Erie 
in  the  southern  part  of  Connecticut  Reserve.  Its  course  is  remarkably 
sinuous;  but  its  general  direction  is  southwardly.  It  traverses  Stark, 
Tuscarawas,  Coshocton,  Muskingum,  Morgan  and  Washington  counties, 
and  enters  the  Ohio  at  Marietta,  by  a  mouth  250  yards  wide.  It  is 
beatable,  in  good  stages  of  the  water,  to  Coshocton,  100  miles  by  the 
course  of  the  river.  Small  crafts  ascend  it  to  a  portage  cf  one  mile  to 
the  boatable  water.?  of  Cuyahoga  of  lake  Erie.  There  are  considerable 
falls  in  the  river  at  Zanesville,  which  uffovd  sites  for  many  mill  seats. 
Some  parts  of  the  course  of  the  Muskingum  are  through  a  hilly  country. 
The  principal  branches  are  Licking,  White  Woman's,  Willis',  Wolf,  Coal, 
Olive,  Green,  Meigs,  Salt,  Jonathan,  Wakatomka,  Still  Water,  Sugar, 
Coneter,  Nimishillen,  and  Indian  Creeks.  Above  Coshocton  the  river 
itself  is  generally  called  Tuscarawas.  In  the  intervals  of  the  precipitous 
country  along  this  river,  the  lands  are  fine ;  and  the  country  is  remarkable 
for  health. 

Several  considerable  creeks  enter  the  Ohio,  between  the  Muskingum 
and  the  Pennsylvania  line,  such  as  Pawpaw,  Little  Muskingum,  Indian, 
Wheeling,  Captina,  Stony,  and  Sunfish.  These  arc  the  principal  rivers 
that  enter  the  Ohio  and  its  waters.  But  the  table  lands  of  this  state  have 
a  general  inclination  either  to  the  Ohio,  or  to  lake  Erie ;  and  a  number 
of  considerable  rivers  run  from  the  northern  belt  of  this  table  land  into 
lake  Erie.     The  principal  of  these  is  the  Maumee. 

The  Maumee  rises  in  the  north-eastern  angle  of  the  state  of  Indiana; 
and  flows  in  a  north-eastern  direction  across  the  north-western  borders  of 
the  state  of  Ohio  into  the  western  extremity  of  lake  Erie.  It  is  navigable 
33  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  navigation  is  there  obstructed  by  shoals 
and  rapids.  It  is  a  broad,  deep  stream,  with  an  average  width  from  150  to 
200  yards,  and  is  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  St.  Joseph's,  St.  Mary's 
and  the  Great  and  Little  Au  Glaize.  This  important  river  has  a  course 
of  100  miles.  Fort  Meigs,  a  fortification  of  much  note  in  the  late  war, 
is  on  this  river.  It  has  a  valuable  fishery,  and  its  banks,  in  the  season  of 
vegetation,  are  remarkable  for  the  luxuriance  of  their  verdure.  The  St. 
Joseph's  of  this  river  heads  in  Indiana,  is  a  considerable  stream,  and 
boatable  50  miles.  The  St.  Mary's,  another  of  its  branches,  has  a  long 
course  of  boatable  navigation.  The  Au  Glaize  is  a  considerable  stream, 
that  passes  through  the  Indian  country,  and  falls  into  the  Maumee  at 
Fort  Winchester,  50  miles  below  Fort  Wayne.  Touissaint  River  enters 
the  lake  20  miles  east  of  the  Maumee.  It  may  rather  be  considered  an 
arm  of  the  lake  than  a  river .  It  rises  in  the  prairie,  has  no  perceptible 
current,  and  is  choked  with  wild  rice,  aquatic  plants,  and  grass.  In 
summer  it  abounds  with  wild  fowls.     Otters  and  muskrats  are  trapped 

&1 


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408 


OHIO. 


in  great  numbers  by  the  Indians  on  it.  Porlawc  is  an  inconsider.ible  river 
heading  not  far  from  Urbana.  Like  most  of  the  rivers,  that  riseinlhesp 
level  lands,  and  Hill  into  the  lake,  it  has  very  little  current,  and  is  150 
yards  wide  at  its  mouth. 

The  Sandusky  rises  in  the  western  limits  of  Richland  county,  and 
runs  in  a  general  north-west  direction,  90  miles  to  the  lake.  It  is  more 
rapid  than  the  other  lake  streams;  l;ut  yet  nflords  pnod  navigation.  Its 
chief  branches  are  Tyemochtee,  Honey,  and  Wolf  Creeks.  Between 
this  river  and  the  Scioto,  is  a  portage  of  only  four  miles.  It  has  been 
proposed  to  canal  this  portage.  There  are  fine  bodies  of  land  on  the 
banks  of  this  stream.  Huron  f  dls  into  the  lake  by  a  mouth  50  yards 
wide.  Its  comparative  course  is  30  miles.  Rocky  River  is  a  stream  of 
considerable  importance.  The  lands  on  its  banks  are  fine,  and  it  lias  a 
rich  and  thriving  settlement. 

Cuyahoga  rises  in  the  central  parts  of  Geauga  county,  and  passes 
through  Portage  and  Cuyahoga  counties,  entering  the  lake  at  Cleaveland. 
Its  whole  course  is  60  miles,  greater  part  of  which  distance  it  is  boatable. 
Above  where  it  is  boatable  it  has  valuable  mill  seats.  Cleaveland,  which 
has  become  a  place  of  importance,  is  at  its  mouth.  ,, 

Chagrin,  Grand,  Ashtabula,  and  Coneaught  are  considerable  streams, 
that  rise  near  the  lake,  run  northwardly,  and  fall  into  it.  Ohio  is  the 
country  of  hills  and  vales,  delightfully  irrigated  with  springs,  brooks,  and 
rivers  of  every  class  and  size.  There  are  more  than  an  hundred  streams 
not  here  enumerated,  which,  for  seven  months  in  the  year,  cany  a  consid- 
erable mass  of  waters.  A  remark,  applicable  to  the  whole  western  coun- 
try, applies  to  this  state,  that  a  great  number  of  considerable  streams 
during  the  winter  months,  disappear  before  the  evaporating  ardors  of  the 
summer^s  sun. 

Minerals,  and  Mineral  Springs.  In  the  eastern  and  north-eastern 
divisions  of  this  state,  on  the  Muskingum,  Hockhocking  and  Scioto,  min- 
eral coal  abounds,  and  it  has  an  extensive  and  rich  coal  region.  It  is  in  the 
gi-eatest  abundance,  and  of  the  best  quality.  It  so  happens,  that  in  the 
same  region  are  found  the  greatest  bodies  of  iron  ore.  Nature  seems  to 
have  furnished  the  industrious  people  of  this  state  with  every  possible 
facility  for  important  and  staple  manufactures.  Limestone,  marble,  and 
free  stone,  in  strata  easy  to  quarry,  near  the  surface,  and  admirably  adapt- 
ed to  building  and  public  works,  abound.  The  useful  earths  and  fossils 
are  in  abundance.  Specimens  of  gypsum  are  procured  from  Sandusky 
bay.  Salt  springs  are  common.  In  some  the  water  contains  almost  as 
much  salt  as  that  of  the  sea.  The  most  important  manufactures  of  this 
article  are  in  Musiiingum,  Morgan,  Jackson,  and  Gallia  counties.  Nearly 
hal    a  million  bushels  are  manufactured  in  the  state.     Those  s|)rings 


^ 


r*: 


f'f*' 


■^ 


OHIO. 


403 


whose  waters  are  drunk  as  medicinal,  are  most  of  them  more  or  less  im- 
piL'L'iiated  with  muriate  of  soda.  « 

TIic  Yellow  Sj)rin<j?,  ihc  most  accuslomed  watering  place,  after  Har 
rods'iirj^h  Sprinos,  in  llic  western  country,  are  situated  near  the  falls  of 
the  Miami,  03  miles  from  Cincinnati,  and  18  from  Dayton,  intermediate 
beiween  the  pretty  towns  of  Xenia  and  Springfield,  and  on  the  height  of 
the  table  land  of  the  state.  The  elevated  position,  the  grand  and  roman- 
tic scenery,  and  the  cool  and  salubrious  air  probably  contribute  as  much 
to  the  restoration  of  invalids,  as  the  waters,  which  are,  however,  strongly 
charged  with  iron  in  solution.  The  hotel  displays  a  front  with  a  collon- 
ade  of  200  feet,  with  a  number  of  beautiful  cottages  parallel  with  the 
main  building.  The  clearing  is  cut  out  of  the  solid  mass  of  forest,  leaving 
trees  and  openings,  as  beauty  of  scenery  and  shade  require.  From  this 
elevation,  and  these  sumptuous  erections  of  art,  the  eye  sweeps  the  an- 
cient forests,  over  Indiana,  towards  the  Ohio  and  the  lakes,  arrested  only 
by  the  horizon.  The  falls  of  the  Little  Miami,  Pompey's  Pillar,  the  Blue 
Hole,  and  many  other  romantic  spectacles  in  this  region  of  grand  and 
mountain  scenery  impart  to  this  watering  place  all  the  charms  that  the 
lover  of  nature  would  require;  and  heighten  the  contrast  of  the  luxury  of 
the  accommodations  provided  for  visitants.  Lovers  of  the  picturesque 
affirm,  that  neither  the  Bedford  Springs  of  Pennsylvania,nor  the  watering 
places  of  the  mountains  of  Virginia,  surpass  this  place  in  grandeur,  or 
equal  it  in  amenity  of  prospect. 

Climate.  Climate  here  remarkably  corresponds  to  latitude.  Other 
elements,  that  operate  upon  the  result  are  elevation  and  proximity  to 
waters,  or  distance  from  Ihcm.  The  climate,  for  instance,  along  the 
immediate  valley  of  viie  Ohio  is  more  equabh  and  temperate,  than  in  the 
middle  and  table  lands  of  the  state;  and  the  difference  greater,  than  can 
Le  attributed  merely  to  difference  of  latitude.  The  central  parts  of  the 
state  are  in  the  same  latitude  with  Philadelphia.  The  mean  temperature 
of  the  year  at  Philadelphia  was  found  to  be  53°.  In  the  same  year  the 
mean  temperature  of  Ohio  was  55°.  As  we  recede  from  the  Ohio  the 
temperature  diminishes  in  a  greater  ratio  than  that  of  the  latitude.  The 
prevalent  and  warm  winds  are  those  that  blow  from  the  gulf,  and  up  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi.  The  cold  breezes  come  charged  with  the  cold 
of  Canada  and  the  lakes.  In  that  part  of  the  state  that  slopes  to  the 
south,  the  snow  neither  falls  deep,  nor  lies  long.  But  in  Connecticut 
Reseive,  and  in  the  points  that  slope  towards  the  lakes,  they  have  deep 
and  durable  snows;  and  sleighing  and  sledding  are  practicable  a  consid- 
erable length  of  time.  It  is  a  great  inconvenience  in  this  climate,  that 
during  the  winter  months  the  transitions  from  warm  to  cold,  and  there^ 
verse  are  frequent  and  violent.    Thaws  and  frosts  are  the  result,  and  the 


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OHIO. 


l! 


soil,  being  deep  and  clayey,  the  travelling  is  njuddy  and  uncomfortfiMc. 
The  winters  arc  sometimes  considerably  severe,  and  the  Ohio  has  been 
crossed  at  Cincinnati  for  nine  weeks.     Oftentimes  they  are  mild,  and  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  be  more   than  a  prolongation   of  autumn  and  spring. 
Winter  seldom  commences  in  severity  until  Christmas,  and  its  severity  is 
generally  mitigated  early  in  February.      Vegetation,  which  is  the  most 
certain  and  accurate  thermometer,  indicates  a  temperature  of  greater 
mildness  in  the  season,  than  in  the  corresponding  latitudes  in  the  Atlantic 
The  heat  of  the  summer  in  the  Ohio  valley  is  uniformly  oppressive,  buf 
does  not  commence  early,  nor  continue  late  in  the  season.     The  heat  of 
summer  abates  as  early  in  the  autumn,  as  in  the  more  northern  latitudes 
in  the  Atlantic  country.     The  autumns  are  almost  uniformly  temperate, 
dry,  and  beautifid ;  and  nothing  can  exceed  them  for  health  and  pleasant- 
ness.    No  where  in  the  world  is  the  grand  autumnal  painting  of  tlic 
forests  in  the  decay  of  vegetation,  seen  in  more  beauty  than  in  the  beech 
forests  of  Ohio.     The  richness  of  the  fading  colours,  and  the  effect  of  the 
mingling  hues,  baffles  all  description.     A  great  farming  community  like 
that  of  Ohio,  could  scarcely  desire  a  better  climate  for  themselves,  their 
cattle  and  stock  of  all  kinds ;  or  one,  in  which  a  man  can  work  abroad 
with  comfort  a  greater  number  of  days  in  the  year. 

Antiquities.     We  have  space  to  add  but  little  upon  this  subject.    The 
most  remarkable  are  at  Worthington,  Granville,  Athens,  Marietta,  Galli- 
opolis.  Paint  Creek,  Circleville,  and  on  the  Little  Miami.     The  domestic 
utensils,  pottery,  vases  and  trinkets  of  the  inhabitants,  who,  probably, 
reared  them,  are  found  in  and  about  the  mounds.    The  instruments  of 
their  warfare  are  discovered,  too,  and  give  clear  indications  that  they  cul- 
tivated the  horrid  art  of  shedding  human  blood.     Most  of  the  human 
bones,  which  are  dug  in  great  quantities  from  the  mounds,  moulder  on 
exposure  to  the  air.     The  skulls  in  most  instances  remain,  and  great 
numbers  are  shown  in  the  museums.     They  evidence  a  surprising  variety 
in  the  retreat  of  the  facial  angle  of  the  skulls.     It  is  affirmed,  that  marks 
of  iron  tools  are  found  upon  the  wood  dug  up  from  considerable  depths 
below  the  surface  of  the  prairies.     A  sword  is  preserved,  as  a  curiosity, 
which  is    said  to  have  been  enclosed  in  the  wood  of  the  roots  of  a  tree 
which  could  not  have  been  less  than  500  years  old.      We  have  not  seen 
this  sword ;  but  we  have  seen  a  diminutive  iron  horse  shoe,  dug  up  at  a 
depth  of  25  feet  below  the  surflice,  in  graduating  the  street  near  the 
mansion  of  Judge  Burnet,  in  Cincinnati.    It  was  smaller  than  the  kind 
of  shoe,  required  for  the  smallest  kind  of  asses.    A  number  of  the  nails 
were  in  it,  and  the  erosion  by  rust  was  such  as  might  be  expected  to 
result  from  the  oxidation  of  500  years.    Many  of  the  mounds  are  com- 
posed of  different  earths  from   that,  which  is  found  in  their  vicinity.    It 


#; 


M 


OHIO. 


405 


is  the  most  inexplicable  of  all  the  mysterious  circumstances  connected 
with  these  mounds,  that  the  material  of  these  immense  structures,  some  of 
which  would  require  the  labor  of  a  thousand  men  for  some  time  in  the 
erection,  should  have  been  brought  from  a  distance.  There  is  no  conceiv- 
able motive  why  the  earth,  on  which  the  mounds  rest,  should  not  have 
subserved  all  purposes,  that  we  can  imagine  the  builders  to  have  had  in 
view.  We  know  with  what  scrupulous  care  the  Jews  throw  a  little  of 
the  earth  of  the  holy  land  into  the  graves  of  their  friends.  Possibly  this 
transfer  of  earth  for  the  mounds,  from  a  distance,  may  have  reference  to 
atfccting  remembrances,  like  those  of  the  Jews.  We  have  elsewhere 
described  the  most  remarkable  mounds  at  Circleville.  Engravings  of  its 
form  may  be  seen  in  books,  that  treat  professedly  upon  this  subject. 

Population.  By  the  census  of  1820  there  were  130,400  men,  over  18 
years,  capable  of  bearing  arms.  At  the  same  time  110,091  persons  were 
engaged  in  agriculture;  18,056  in  manufactures,  and  1,459 in  commerce 
or  merchandize.  There  were  3,495  foreigners,  not  naturalized.  No 
colony  in  history  has  ever  shown  a  greater  natural  increase  in  population. 
No  country  can  show  a  greater  number  of  young  children,  in  proportion 
to  the  whole  number  of  th«;  inhabitants.  Among  the  obvious  causes  of 
this  great  increase  may  be  mentioned  the  circumstan«:e  of  there  being 
no  slavery  allowed  in  Ohio.  The  climate  is,  unquestionably,  healthy. 
The  state  is  divided  into  moderately  sized  freeholds.  Most  of  the  people 
are  engaged  in  the  healthy  and  vigorous  pursuits  of  agriculture.  The 
soil  yields,  in  the  greatest  profusion,  all  that  is  necessary  for  healthy  and 
comfortable  subsistence.  Wiiatover  be  the  cause,  the  multitudes  o  f 
children,  that  are  seen  about  the  farm  houses  in  the  country,  and  that  fill 
the  streets  of  the  villages  and  towns,  do  not  fail  to  excite  the  remark  of 
every  passing  traveller. 

Religion.  In  our  table  of  religious  denominations,  see  appendix,  we 
have  given  general  views  of  the  comparative  numbers  of  the  different 
religious  denominations.  There  are  numbers  of  all  the  known  existing 
sects.  But  the  Presbyterians  and  Meth.idists  are  the  prevalent  denomin, 
ations.  The  Shakers  and  Tunkers  have  establishments  in  this 
state.  German  Lutherans  exist  in  considerable  numbers.  Most  people 
are  desirous  of  being  thought  to  belong  to  some  religious  denomination- 
It  is  affirmed  by  a  gentleman,  well  known  for  his  researches  into  the  anti" 
quities  of  this  state,  that  there  is  a  greater  number  of  professors  of 
religion,  in  proportion  to  the  whole  number  of  the  people,  than  in  any 
state  in  the  Union.  There  are  a  vast  number  of  religious  societies;  but 
til  ere  is  not  a  great  number,  that  have  regularly  established  pastors. 
The  custom  of  itenerating  preaching,  as  a  supply,  is  very  prevalent.  The 
people  are  generally  a  (luiet,  orderly,  peaceable,  moral  and  industrious 
race.    Suicide,  excesses,  murders  in  affray,  and  instances  of  deliberate 


f 


400 


OHIO. 


and  atrocious  cruelty,  are  rare ;  and  the  general  moral  character  of  the 
people  is  highly  respectable. 

In  a  country  so  fresh,  much  taste  for  cmhcllishnicnt  or  improvement  in 
the  fine  arts,  cannot  be  reasonably  expected.  From  New  England  and 
New  Jersey  this  state  inherits  a  passion  for  sacred  music;  and  societies 
for  the  promotion  of  this  delightful  science  are  common.  A  vast  number 
of  Ne^^  England  music  masters  find  annual  employment  in  their  vocation. 
There  appears,  also,  to  be  a  general  taste  for  instrumental  music;  as  is 
manifested  in  seeing  in  great  numbers  of  the  farm  houses  and  cabins, 
rude  harps  and  other  home  manufactured  instruments  of  music.  In 
passing  the  detached  dwellings  of  the  Ohio  farmers  in  the  winter  evenings, 
we  generally  hear  the  interior  cheered  with  some  kind  of  music.  A  taste 
for  ornament,  and  those  arts,  which  embellish  society  and  existence,  is 
evidently  increasing.  On  anniversaries,  the  people  are  addicted  to  show, 
parade  and  splendor.  There  is  a  fondness  fir  a  large  and  stately  house. 
Gardening  is  studied  in  many  places;  and  Cincinnati  shows  a  number  of 
gardens,  that  will  vie  with  almost  any  in  the  United  States.  An  idea  of 
the  means  of  diffusing  information  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact,  that 
more  than  80  newspapers  are  printed  in  the  state,  and  that  it  has  504 
post  oflSces. 

§  Trade  and  Manvfaciurcs.     This  state,  more  populous  than  any  other 

in  the  West,  and  possessing  in  many  respects  manufacturing  capabilities, 
has  taken  precedence  of  all  the  rest  in  manufactures.  Cotton  yarn,  cloth 
and  woollen  goods,  are  already  manufactured  to  a  considerable  extent. 
Cincinnati  contains  a  great  mass  of  intelligent  and  enterprising  manu- 
facturers. Steubenville,  Zanesville,  Chillicothe,  Dayton,  and  many  other 
of  the  young  and  rising  towns  are  commencing  manufactures  with  great 
spirit.  In  1810,  the  manufactures  of  the  state  amounted  to  nearly  two 
millions  of  dollais.  At  present  they  must  amount  to  triple  that  sum. 
From  a  single  township  175  tons  of  cheese  worth  20,000  dollars  was 
exported  in  one  year.  The  whole  amount  of  taxable  property  is  rated 
at  sixty-two  million  dollars. 

Colleges  and  Seminaries.  In  a  laudable  zeal  to  advance  science  and 
education,  it  is  a  question,  if  this  and  the  other  western  states  have  not 
been  too  fond  of  multiplying  colleges,  or  small  institutions  so  called, 
built  upon  principles  naturally  tending  to  rouse  a  spirit  of  unworthy  emu- 
lation, to  the  neglect  of  respectable  commo  .    ^s  '.ools,  efficient  high 

U  schools,  and  one  or  two  universities  with  endowments,  library,  apparatus 

J|'  and  professorships  to  furnish  to  the  means  of  a  finished  classical  educa- 
tion, yet  a  desideratum  in  the  western  country.  While  the  most  enlight- 
ened nations  in  Europe  are  content  with  three  or  four  universities,  we 
have  at  least  50  colleges  in  the  western  country. 


.5^ 


UIIIO. 


407 


Ohio,  preceding  all  her  sister  stales  in  the  manifestation  of  an  enlight- 
ened ze;il  to  adviince  education,  lias  not  been  behind  them  in  chartering 
colleges. 

Miami  university  is  situated  in  Oxford,  near  the  western  extremity  of 
Ohio,  and  40  miles  north-west  from  Cincinnati.  It  has  an  academical 
department  and  a  preparatory  school.  It  has  one  spacious  building,  and 
others  afipropriaied  to  boarders,  a  competent  number  of  professors,  and 
about  50  students  in  all  the  departments.  The  position  is  healthy,  and 
tuition  cheap.  It  has  consequently  became  a  considerable  resort  of 
students  from  other  states.  The  annual  income  of  its  funds  is  about 
2,500  dollars. 

Ohio  university  at  Athens  has  respectable  endowments  and  buildings 
nnd  ordinarily  a  number  of  students  not  much  inferior  to  that  of  the 
Minmi  institution.     Its  endowments  consist  of  two  townships  of  land. 

Kenyon  colleife  at  Camlier,  an  episcopal  institution,  has  arisen  in  the 
midst  of  what  was  recently  a  orest  in  the  central  parts  of  the  state  It 
has  one  mr.gnificcnt  building,  and  others  of  less  magnitude  with  ample 
funds  and  endowments,  amounting  to  50,000  dollars  and  140  students. 

The  Western  Reserve  college  at  Hudson  has  been  recently  established 
in  the  north-eastern  division  of  the  state.  Connected  with  it  is  an 
academy,  in  which  are  30  students.  The  manual  labor  plan  is  in  exper- 
iment here. 

Franklin  college  at  New  Athens  is  in  successful  operation.  A  commo- 
dious building  sufficient  to  accommodate  140  students  has  just  been 
completed. 

The  Worthington  Reformed  Medical  College  at  Worthington  has 
a  considerable  number  of  medical  students.  Two  rival  medical 
colleges  at  Cincinnati  have  recently  been  merged  in  one,  which  has  one 
spacious  building,  and  another  of  equal  beauty,  and  extent  erecting.  In 
buildings,  library,  apparatus  and  professorships  it  is  highly  respectable, 
and  has  had  on  an  average  100  medical  students. 

The  Lane  Theological  seminary  has  recently  been  organized,  two  miles 
distant  from  Cincinnati.  It  is  under  the  care  of  the  Presbyterian  churchy 
and  has  been  endowed  with  funds  estimated  at  30,000  dollars.  The 
position  is  healthy  and  delightful,  and  the  number  of  the  students  in- 
creasing. 

There  are  15  or  20  academies,  and  as  each  session  of  the  legislature 
incorporates  new  ones,  we  cannot  be  precise  in  imparting  information 
upon  this  subject.  An  academical  institute  of  some  celebrity  exists  at 
Marietta.  An  academy,  not  long  since  incorporated  at  Urbana,  has  a 
large  number  of  pupils.    There  are  academies  at  Barton,  New  Lisbon, 


ii 


''W 


m 


mm 


wmm 


«p 


408 


k^ 


OHIO. 


Sleubcnville,  Cadiz,  Union,  Galliopolis,  Chillicothe,  and  Daylon.  A 
very  respectable  High  School  has  recently  been  organized  at  Cincinnati, 

The  first  introduction  of  tlie  New  England  system  of  common  schools 
in  the  western  country  was  in  Ohio,  and  dates  in  liSliS.  By  dillicient 
amendatory  enactmenls  it  has  acquired  a  degree  of  form  and  consistenfy, 
and  the  thoughts  and  usages  of  the  people  are  growing  to  a  gradual 
adaptation  to  it.  The  example,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  followed  by  the  otlier 
western  states  and  the  foundation  laid  for  unspeakable  blessings  to  the 
generations  to  come.  By  this  act  the  trustees  of  every  incorporated 
township  are  required  to  divide  it  into  a  suitable  number  of  school  districts) 
the  prudential  concerns  of  which  are  to  be  managed  by  three  sclujoi 
directors,  a  clerk  and  treasurer.  The  funds  for  this  vast  system  arise 
from  various  sources  besides  the  easy  tax  of  one  mill  upon  a  dollar, 
constituting  a  large  and  growing  revenue.  It  was  at  first  found  discord- 
ant with  the  habits  and  likings  of  portions  of  the  population.  This 
odium  of  prejudice  is  wearing  away,  and  the  system  is  going  into  efticiont 
and  noiseless  oi)eration.  In  Cincinnati  alone  it  has  provided  instruction 
for  3,000  children,  in  well  organized  schools,  many  of  whom,  but  for  this 
provision,  would  probably  have  grown  into  life  without  a  common  sciiool 
education.  A  general  interest  in  literature  is  making  visible  progress  in 
this  great  state. 

An  asylum  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  has  been  established  at  Columbus, 
which  promises  much  to  that  suftering  class  of  the  population. 

Chief  Toiv^ns,  This  state  possesses  over  100  considerable  villages. 
Of  many  we  have  space  but  for  little  more  than  the  names. 

Cincinnati,  the  chief  town  of  this  state,  and  next  to  New  Orleans  of 
the  western  country,  is  situated  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Ohio,  nearly  in 
the  south-west  angle  of  the  state.  Its  position  is  a  beautiful  vale  12 
miles  in  circumference,  created  by  an  elliptical  sweep  of  Ohio  hills. 
Those  of  them,  that  have  not  been  laid  bare  by  the  unsparing  axe,  are 
beautifully  wooded  to  their  summits ;  and  by  the  swell  and  indentation 
of  their  waving  outline  present  the  most  graceful  and  charming  forms. 
From  the  summit  of  any  of  these  hills,  the  town  spreads  a  panoramic  map 
of  exquisite  painting.  The  eye  traces  every  street,  with  its  smokes, 
fixtures  and  moving  life,  from  which  all  the  roughnessof  inception,  softened 
by  distance,  disappears.  The  noble  establishments,  the  handsome 
mansions,  the  extending  masses  of  buildings,  the  numerous  manufactures 
propelling  their  columns  of  black  smoke  aloft,  the  boat  yards,  the  bustling 
inhabitants  with  the  hundred  teams  and  drays,  the  Ohio  winding  along 
the  southern  limit,  and  itself  enlivened  by  passing  crafts,  and  stately 
steam  boats,  rotjnding  to  the  shore,  or  departing  from  it,  the  villages 
of  Newport  and  Covington  with  their  showy  houses  and  manuflictures 


■'^^mimnmrK 


oiiio. 


400 


at  Columbus. 


oil  tlio  Koiiliicky  biiiik  tjf  llio  Oliio,  tukon  lcj,'olli('r,  uilcr  auch  ;i  j)ictiiro 
of  beauty,  Nvoallh,  piof;r(  ss  and  IVosli  advance,  as  (V'w  landscapes  in  any 
country  can  surpass.  Its  first  .scltlcincut  was  in  17S0,  but  it  was  not 
lintin^'^<"^?>'''»l'i''""^itlf''';'blc  parldCtbc  [  rcFcnt  Inwn  i»loltbat  surrounded 
Fort  UiiB!iin<.Mon,  and  belonf^od  to  tbc  <.'ovLMi!nietif,  was  sold  in  lols. 

A  more  elc(.Mblo  position  for  a  town  can  scarcely  bo  imagined.  Tbo 
chief  area  consists  of  two  parallel  pbiinn,  the  ono  elevated  (>()  feet  above 
the  other,  and  descending  to  it  by  a  gentle  and  ffrailuated  slope,  afTording 
admirable  facilities  for  washing  the  to.vn  by  every  considerable  rain,  and 
sloping  it  to  tlio  eye  in  the  graceful  form  of  an  amphitheatre,  and  at  tho 
Same  time  furnishing  it  with  every  pleasing  variety  of  site  for  building. 
One  of  the  chief  beauties  of  this  city  is  obvii.u.s  to  every  eye,  which, 
however,  wc  have  not  seen  recorded.  The  streets  crossing  each  other  at 
right  angles,  and  being  straight  and  uninteirtipted,  present  vistas  bounded 
by  the  wooded  acclivities  of  the  surrounding  hills.  !?y  a  well  known 
optical  illusion,  these  swelling  hillsides,  seen  through  a  vista,  narrowing  in 
apparent  width,  in  proportion  to  its  distance  from  the  eye,  iill  the  imglo 
of  vision,  aud  preclude  the  perception  of  any  distance  between  the  termi- 
nation of  the  street  and  the  commencement  ef  the  bills.  1  n  conscc|uonce, 
through  whatever  street  the  beholder  looks,  it  seems  to  1  e  clcscd  by  a 
gate  of  verdure,  and  to  terminate  in  a  forest. 

Seven  of  the  streets  are  ttO  feet  wide,  and  3fK>  apart,  iiifersccted  by 
streets  of  the  same  width  and  distance  at  right  angles.  One  entire  scpiaro, 
and  tlie  fraction  of  another,  are  reserved  in  central  parts  of  the  city  for 
public  buildings.  The  city  buildings  cover  an  irregular  area  nearest  the 
form  of  a  parallelagram.  The  central  parts  arc  compactly  built  with 
houses  and  stores,  that  would  ornament  any  town.  The  most  showy 
quarters  are  Main,  Broadway,  arul  Fourth  street  westward  from  its  inter- 
section with  Main.  Pearl  street  nearly  completed,  leading  from  tho 
lower  Market  to  Walnut  street,  is  composed  of  uniform  liuildings,  termi- 
nated by  a  magnificent  Hotel,  five  stories  liigli,  and  will  add  greatly  to 
the  beauty  uf  that  part  of  the  city.  The  public  buildings  are  a  Court 
house,  jail,  four  market  houses,  one  of  them  HOO  feet  in  length,  the  Bazaar, 
U.  S.  Branch  Bank,  the  Cincinnati  College,  the  C.iiho'ic  Athenajum,  tho 
Medical  College,  for  which  a  second  spacious  and  conunodious  building  is 
erecting,  the  Mechanics  Institute!,  Theatre,  aiul  a  second  one  erecting,  two 
Museums,  the  Hospital  and  Lunatic  Asylum,  and  the  Woodward  High 
School  in  the  progress  of  erection.  Some  other  public  buildings  are  in 
contemplation. 

Beside  these,  there  are  21  churches,  great  and  small.  Of  these  the 
Second  Presbyterian  church  is  the  handsomest,  tho  exleiior  l-eing  of 
agreeable  architecture,  and  the  ii lie) lor  decidotlly  beautiful.     The  Unita- 

52 


■t 


■r^t^   jati 


no 


OHIO 


rian  church  is  a  aiiiRnlarly  neat  ono.  The  interior  of  tho  Catholic 
church  is  striking.  Tho  first  ami  third  Prcsytcrian  cliurchcsarespacioim 
buildings,  as  the  new  Methodist  church  will  l)c,  when  complete;!.  A  very 
neat  Baptist  church  is  nearly  completed.  8ome  of  the  other  churches 
make  a  respectable  appearance. 

There  arc  many  fine  blocks  of  stores  on  Front  and  Main  streets, 
and  tho  eye  is  arrested  by  many  beautiful  private  habitations.  Architec- 
tural taste  is  daily  becoming  more  enlightened  and  ngrecablc.  Tiio  dull 
red  of  tho  brick  walls  is  giving  way  to  nu)rc  pleasing  shadcH  hctweeti 
white  and  green;  and  a  beautiful  stucco  imitating  marble  and  granite  is 
getting  into  fashion.  The  number  of  substantial  buildings  added  annu- 
ally to  the  city  for  tinco  years  past  averages  4.30. 

It  has  already  become  a  great  manufacturing  town,  and  is  constantly 
becoming  more  so.  Our  limits  preclude  details;  but  all  the  substantial 
manufactures  known  in  our  country  are  carried  on  to  a  greater  or  leas 
extent.  The  manufactures  in  iron  are  very  ^  reat,  particularly  in  the 
article  of  heavy  castings,  and  all  sorts  of  machinery  driven  by  steam. 
Of  such  establishments  there  arc  9  or  10,  and  pome  of  them  on  a  great 
4cale.  The  next  most  extcnsvc  article  is  cabinet  xvork.  Steam  boat 
building  is  a  great  item.  Hatting  is  pursued  to  a  great  extent.  It  is 
believed,  that  the  city  contains  at  least  40  different  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments driven  by  steam  power.  Being  the  importing  and  exporting 
depot  for  more  than  a  million  inlubiidnts,  this  city  transacts  an  immense 
business  particularly,  in  the  retailing  and  manufacturing  line.  The 
imports,  in  which  dry  goods  arc  the  principal  item,  exceed  five  million 
dollars.  The  amount  of  exports,  consisting  of  the  various  articles  of 
produce,  of  which  pork  is  the  chief,  and  of  manufactures,  of  which  iron 
articles  and  cabinet  furniture  are  the  chief,  probably  exceed  the  imports. 
No  town  of  its  size  irx  ihe  iJ.  S.  produces  a  more  respectable  show  of  all 
the  different  classes  of  mechanics,  arranged  under  their  respective 
standards  on  the  fourth  of  July.  One  hundred  and  eleven  steam  boats 
have  been  built  here,  at  the  rate  of  about  15  a  year  for  the  last  three 
years.  The  city  revenue  of  1831  was  35,231  dollars,  and  the  expendi. 
tares  33,858. 

There  are  two  banks,  a  branch  of  the  U.  S.  bank,  capital  1,200,000, 
and  the  Commercial  bank,  capital  500,000.  Beside  these  there  is  a 
Savings  bank.  There  are  three  Insurance  Companies  belonging  to  the 
city,  and  two  branches  of  insurance  companies  at  Hartford,  Connecticut. 
The  water  company  supplies  the  city  with  water  from  the  Ohio,  raised 
by  steam  power  to  reservoirs  158  feet  above  low  water  mark  on  the  side 
of  one  of  the  Ohio  hills;  whence  it  is  distributed  over  the  town,  at  an 
average  expense  of  8  dollars  a  year  for  a  common  family's  supply,    The 


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tiiy  fiiriii.iliiM  lli:«'.'  d.iily  yu/.L'ltca,  t\V(»»tiui-wockly,Hi.\  Mokly,  ol  ^\c\\ 
Ibui' uro  voliiri'.iiis;  two  F.'ini-monthly,  cn(!  montlily  imgazino,  ai^'ono 
mniillily  n;;ticiiltiinil  jinpor,  r.ndoiio  (prirlorly  journtil  of  moilicinc,  mak- 
in'i  in  nil  ll»  iKirio.Iiciils.  'J'liiity-two  tiKiiln  iinivo  in  ii  week,  and  the  jwdI 
(mTico  iiniiual  n.'ccij'f;-,  tanoimt  lo  l'.5,'-''.(l  (ioliirs 

There  nrc  two  lii-j  coniinniea,  an;!  ;>  I  c'liirif;il)le  societies,  the  means, 
intcilijLfcnce,  :intl  cliarity  ol"  v.Iiivii,  if  iiici;  .-d  in  one  society,  would 
pr(il)ai)ly  itcliiovoinoro  good  ;jiin  tlic  lliirly-fonr.  'J'licro  nro  25  religious 
socielios,  in  \vlii(;li  most  oi' lli«  rcli^/ions  opinions  of  Christendom  aro 
represented,  r.nd  whose;  nintti;,l  wat(  lifidness  oi'  each  other  educes  con- 
cord from  jealoiiHy,  hy  Inn  lorin:,'  the  hurtl'id  predominance  of  any  one  of 
tlioni,  and  ena!;lini{  each  lo  pursue  its  respective  interests  unmolested  and 
ip  peace. 

TlK>p)pulati,)n  in  \iUi>  was  li5,'2'5l);  in  1S-.29  •21,'1();-);  in  1830  2«,r>15; 
and  by  n  very  nrcuratecnnm(;ralion  in  I'-'.'ll,  'iH,()M,  with  a  floating  pop- 
ulation m.t  include. 1  of  \y)W,  nu-.kii)^'  the  total  at  this  time  more  than 
30,000. 

Tliiiu'jh  the  imporfccl  fi'linj:?  out  of  the  nia<Tnificcnt  plan  of  the  city, 
the  cnmbcrin(](  of  the  strcols  with  timber,  stone,  bricks  and  mortar,  and 
the  inconvenience  of  actual  biiildin<;  present  an  ima^^e  of  crudenesa 
and  iinmalurity,  it  needs  liltli;  spirit  of  prophecy  to  predict  from  the  past 
to  the  future,  that  this  city,  wliich  will  be  shortly  central  to  more  than  two 
millions  of  inhabitants,  which  presents  the  ^freatest  variety  of  models  in 
the  theories  and  imagininf^rsof  stran;;;ers  from  ail  parts  of  the  world,  which 
evolves  the  germs  of  emuliition  and  rivalry  to  a  fault,  and  which  abounds 
in  provisions,  natural  wealth,  fuel,  and  all  the  materials  of  building,  and 
which  is  moreover  a  healthy  town,  will,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  vie 
in  beauty  and  population,  with  the  first  towns  in  the  Union. 

Cincinnati  has  been  called,  somewhat  to  the  discomposure  of  the  sis- 
terly feelings  of  Pittsburgh  and  Louisville,  the  'Queen  of  the  West.' 
Most  young  immigrants,  wlio  possess,  or  imagine  that  they  possess  a 
latent  copiousness  of  speech,  on  first  joining  themselves  to  the  citizens, 
woo  their  queen  by  an  incense  of  puiFing,  vaunting  her  charms,  beauty, 
and  bounty  in  solid  columns.  She,  like  other  queens  and  beauties,  re- 
gards them  by  turning  an  car  long  since  sated  and  deaf  witli  flattery. 
We  know  not,  but  she  may  be  equally  callous  to  the  short  chapter  of  her 
faults — for  fliults  she  has.  In  this  town,  as  in  New  Orleans,  there  are 
but  two  chief  avenues  to  distinction;  the  one  wealth;  the  other  the  talent 
of  gaining  popular  favor.  The  charities,  which  are  only  nursed  where 
the  people  are  of  one  race,  have  been  born,  baptized,  reared,  intermarried, 
and  had  their  whole  lot  of  human  vicissitudes  cast  together,  cannot  he 
supposed  to  put  On-th  such  alimdant   fruit,  where  society  is  continually 


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»liil\iii;,' by  tilt;  uiir.,'iiiitliii;.r  !ic<'L».srJiuii  tif  f-lniiij^'crs;  uhorc  tlir  luurlijii 
!i|)[)Plito  of  ri()*olty  lostcM  lick't'iio.-^s,  and  prccliulcs  llir  chance  of  rinliiipd 
fricniisfiij),  niollovvcil  liy  llmrniioli  nccpifiintance  and  anciont  tics.  Drcp 
find  cndtiriii,?,'  rcn:i<Miil  nmcfMd"  the  passin;;  L'lio.st  is  (H.-ipollod  by  tliuhcait- 
l(!«a  find  }i:i<iinf*yc.l  wclcoiiio  |)ro[)ar('d  for  llu;  c(in)iii;j  one. 
<'on(  urroncn  in  l)n);iii  vitnvs  loriliu  advimccmcMil ol'  litcniturr, (ir  Uio^'rtMt 
iufoiTsls  ((f  humanity  caniiol  hi' «'.\|)C'(l(;.l  in  a  (  ity  f.inpn.sed  ul'  a  pupula- 
tioii  collected  iVoni  sk  many  (Uircrcnt  ronntiic;.",  and  Iransplantinif  wilii 
thcni  11  mass  of  inveterate  prcjiidiceH.  A  nohle  loinidali'>n  of  the  [m'sent 
fr<Mioration  and  tho  froncrationa  to  conio,  in  ordi.T  to  lie  nvired  hy  the  nii»r;il 
omnipotence  of  union  and  hearty  concurrence  must  here  achieve  the  im- 
possible success  of  unitin;:;  u  score  of  reli^i(»u9  sects,  as  many  political 
oncs,and  the  antipathies  of  national  and  suctional  jealousi<;s. 

Hence,  while  the  (ixislinif  <.";<,Mierali()n  talks,  and  writes  nnich  about 
improvements  in  science  and  literature,  it  nuist  be  a  more  fortunate  fjoa- 
oration,  in  which- wealth  and  the  humbler  arts  of  popularity  are  loss  esti- 
mated, an  1  talents  and  merit  more,  which  can  expect  to  reap  the  fruits  of 
high  mental  cidtivation,  orcultivatc  literature  to  any  considerable  extent. 
Of  competition  in  all  the  walks,  this  town  has  as  much  us  any  other,  and 
of  emtdution  and  rivalry,  an  am[)Ie  share.  IJut  thesed  rawbacks,  thcuhnost 
inevitable  rcsidts  of  its  circumstances  notwithstanding:,  no  town  in  the 
United  States  is  advancing  in  beauty  and  population  with  so  mucli 
rapidity,  or  promises  such  a  sustained  prnffress  fd"- twenty  years  to  come. 
The  city  contains  a  great  number  of  excellent  schools,  in  which  tho 
standing  and  improvement  of  the  pupils  will  coaipure  with  the  same  cir 
cumstanccs  in  any  other  town  in  the  Union.  Besides  private  schools  too 
numerous  to  bo  named,  there  are  27  teachers  of  the  public  free  schools, 
in  which  2,700  childreu  receive  instruction.  There  is  as  great  a  number 
of  clergymen,  physicians,  and  lawyers,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  as 
in  any  other  town. 

Cincinnati  is  in  latitude  JMP  0'  30"  N.,  and  in  longitude  7°  24'  45" 
W.  from  ^Va^hington ;  by  the  course  of  the  river  455  miles  from  Pitts- 
burgh, 405  from  the  Mississippi,  1 12  from  ('  )lumbus,  200  from  Sandusky, 
120  from  Indianapolis,  85 'from  Frankfort,  (5S0  from  Natchez,  270  from 
Nashville,  860  from  New  Orleans,,  ;J50  from  St.  Louis,  105  from  Louis- 
ville, 518  from  Baltimore,  and  850  fr<.'ia  New  York  by  the  way  of  the 
Erie  and  New  York  Canal. 

Columbus  is  the  political  metropolis  of  the  slate,  and  very  nearly  the 

geographical  centre  of  it.     It  is  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Scioto 

^      River,  in  the  centre  of  Franklin  county,  and  occupies  a  beautiful  slope, 

«*  ust  below  iho  conHucnce  of  Whetstone  River,  with  the  Scioto.     It  was  a 

compact  forest  in  1812.     It  now  has  a  number  of  respectable  schools,  a 


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innrlt  altoiit 


rln«»«i''ttlH«'!iiiiitiry,  ili«'  iMistnmary  niiinlMr  of  slorcs,  a  tmiik.  four  prlntini; 
Mirn'*'"-  "» <'omn!«Hlii'im  Idick  triarkct  h(lll^'(•,  :i  stiifc  linnsc,  n  liiiildirij.'  f»)r  the 
iiiilitii  'llircs,!!  |)ciiil(iiiiiiry,iiiiil  iiii  Jisylnm  for  llio  ilrjifiirnl  (limil».  Tlio 
Siiiff;  HoiiHo  is  7.'»  hy  TiO  iWu  Tlio  to])  of  tlio  rii;)oI:i  in  UM5  loot  lii^li. 
Ariiiiml  it  iiro  nilrd  walliH,  iVoin  wliicli  Ilia  ^vllole  titwii  is  viHihli;  as  from  a 
iiiqi.  ft  comtnaiKiH  a  (Irliulitliil  laTidsrapc  over  a  country  charmingly 
viirii  '•!  'od,  as  c\fcnsivo  as  the  ryo  <iim  reach.  Tlio  villn^o  of  Frankliiifon, 
n  mill'  to  the  west,  and  lh(!  windinj.'  Scioto,  an;  coriiprehcnded  in  this  viow. 
Till  hnihliii^',  tliat  cuntaiiis  the  |)Mhhe  oIUcch,  is  KHJ  hy  iif)  feet.  In  a 
liiKMvilh  it  and  the  Slatt;  House,  in  the  iuindsoincr  Tourt  lIous(!  for  tho 
I'cderal  C'oiut  'I'iieao  l»nihlin<fs  arc  all  on  the  piddic,  scpiare,  an  area  of 
tni  acres,  reserved  for  puhlic  use,  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  'J'hc  pcni- 
(cnliiiry  is  in  tho  south-west  anj,d(!  of  tho  t(»wn,  and  enclosed  with  a  hi^di 
stoac  wall.  finrnediately  Ix^low  the  penitentiary  is  a  lateral  canal, 
on  which  canal  boats  liavo  already  lloatod  to  tho  town,  connectin<(  this 
town  with  the  Ohio  and  MrieC'aiial  eleven  miles  Hiaith.  This  will 
"rcatly  add  lo  tho  resources  of  the  town.  'J'liero  are  tlireo  churches,  of 
wliich  the  Presltyterian  church  is  spacious,  h(!in<,'  r)()  hy  M  feet.  Tho 
profosHional  men  are,  ten  lawyers,  live  rejridar  physicians,  and  live  of  tho 
growinj,'  defioniination  called  steam  doctors.  The  numher  of  houses  is 
1130,  and  of  inhabitants  ti,l.'}7.  iManiifactuies  have  conmicnccd,  and  its 
relations  to  the  canal  will  o;ivo  a  new  impetus  to  their  «j;rowth.  Thecircum- 
.stanco  of  its  being  the  political  metropolis  of  its  great  state  attaches  to 
it  a  distinguished  and  polite  society.  Jt  is  a  striking  example  of  tho  cre- 
ation, no  longer  unconnnoa  in  the  western  country,  of  a  town,  that  has 
grown  to  importance  in  a  few  years  from  the  solid  forest. 

It  is  in  N.  latitude  :{'.)o  57'  and  0°  W.  longitude.  Columbus  is  306 
miles  from  Washington, ."».")  I  from  \cw  York,  477  from  Philadelphia,  755 
from  Boston,  4'^t)  from  Baltimore,  1)91  from  New  Orleans,  and  397  from 
.Nashville.     Columbus  is  1  \2  miles  from  Cincinnati. 

Stcubcnville,  the  seal  of  justice  for  Jellerson  county,  is  situated  on  the 
\ustbank  of  the  Ohio.  It  was  laid  out  with  great  regularity  in  1798, 
and  is  in  tho  centre  of  a  rich  and  populous  country.  The  town  was  in- 
T'lrporatcd  in  1805,  with  city  privileges.  It  contains  three  churches,  an 
ncadcmy,  a  handsome  market  house,  a  woollen  factory,  a  steam  paper  mill, 
a  Hour  mill,  and  cotton  factory.  A  manufacturing  spirit  is  increasing, 
and  new  establishments  are  in  progress  and-in  contemplation.  It  has 
two  printing  offices,  two  banks,  27  mercantile  stores,  16  public  inns,  an 
air  foundry,  and  other  mechanical  establishments.  In  1820  it  contained 
2,479  inhabitants,  and  now  contains  nearly  3,000.  It  is  distant  38  miles 
south-wcgt  from  Pittsburgh;  25 north-east  from  St.  Clairsville,  and  150 
north-east  from  Columbus;  N.  latitude  40°  25',  W.  longitude  3"  40'. 


#   * 


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I  '; 


'i 


M'  : 


414 


OHIO. 


* 


Zanesvillc,  tlic  seat  of  justice  for  Muskingum  county,  is  situated  on 
the  cast  bank  of  Muskingum  River,  just  below  the  falls.  On  those  falls 
are  a  number  of  manufacturing  mills  drivrn  by  water  power,  amonjr 
which  are  several  flouring  and  saw  mills,  an  oil  mill,  a  rolling  mill,  a  nnil 
machine,  two  glass  houses,  a  woollen  f ictory,  and  three  printing  ofiiccs. 
Two  handsome  bridges  across  the  Muskingum  connect  the  town  wiih 
West  Zanesville  and  Putnam,  so  as  to  identify  them  with  the  town. 
Taken  altogether  the  inhabitants  aicount  to  more  than  4,000.  It  contains 
beside,  a  handsome  court  house,  21  mercantile  stores,  a  Presbyterian, 
Baptist,  Catholic,  and  a  Methodist  clmrch,  and  317  dwelling  houses, 
some  of  which  make  a  show  of  splendor.  Zanesville  is  beginning  to 
manufacture  largely  in  iron,  and  promises  to  become  one  of  the  principal 
manufacturing  towns  in  Ohio.  It  is  situated  in  N.  latitude 40°  W.  longi- 
tude 5°  2',  80  miles  westerly  from  Wheeling  in  Virginia,  61  north-westcrlv 
from  Marietta,  70  north  from  Chillicothe,  and  58  east  from  Columbus, 

Chillicothe,  the  county  town  of  Ross  county,  is  handsomely  situated 
on  a  level  alluvial  plain  on  the  west  bank  of  Scioto,  45  miles  in  a  right 
line  from  its  entrance  into  the  Ohio.  The  town  is  bounded  on  the  north 
by  the  Scioto,  and  on  the  south,  at  the  distance  of  three  quarters  of  a  mile, 
by  Paint  Creek.  The  principal  streets  run  parallel  with  the  course  of 
the  Scioto.  It  is  laid  out  with  great  regularity,  the  principal  streets 
crossing  each  other  at  right  angles  It  was  laid  off  in  1790,  and  contains 
2,827  inhabitants.  It  contains  two  printing  offices,  a  bank,  20  mercan 
tile  stores,  and  two  medical  stores.  It  has  also  four  cotton  spinning  fac- 
tories, a  rope  walk,  an  oil  mill,  a  fulling  mill,  several  saw  mills,  a  paper 
mill,  and  a  number  of  flouring  mills,  including  one  of  steam  powcri 
either  in  the  town  or  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 

The  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  and  Seceders,  have  each  a  church.  It 
has  also  an  academy,  court  house,  jail,  and  a  stone  market  house.  From 
the  summit  of  a  hill,  rising  abruptly  on  the  south-west  side  of  the  town, 
is  a  most  delightful  view  of  the  town  and  circumjacent  country,  inter- 
spersed alternately  with  woods  and  lawns,  through  which  the  Scioto  pur- 
sues a  winding  course  to  the  Ohio.  This  town  is  in  the  centre  of  the 
beautiful  and  fertile  Scioto  country.  The  situation  is  favorable,  and 
every  way  delightful;  but  yet  it  did  not  flourish,  until  the  Grand  Canal 
was  cut  through  the  town,  since  which  it  has  received  a  new  impulse 
towards  prosperity,  promising  that  it  will  attain  the  importance  to  vvliicli 
its  fortunate  position  entitles  it. 

In  the  midst  of  this  town  formerly  stood  one  of  the  most  interesting 
mounds  of  the  cone  shaped  form.  In  leveling  it  for  the  purpose  of  build- 
ing lots,  great  quantities  of  human  bones  were  found  in  it.     Chillicotlie 


OHIO. 


415 


is  55  miles  south  of  Colursibus,  75  nortli-east  from  Maysvillo  in  Kentucky, 
jind  93  north-east  from  Cincinnati.    N.  latitude  89°  20',  W.  longitude 

5°  53'. 

Marietta,  the  seat  of  justice  for  Washington  county,  is  beautifully 
situated  a  little  above  the  mouth  of  Muskingum  River.  It  contains  two 
churches,  an  academy,  the  public  county  buildings,  two  printing  offices,  a 
bank,  80  stores,  about  90  houses,  and  the  whole  township  1,914  inhabit- 
ants. The  people  are  noted  for  their  industry  and  sobriety,  and  the 
polKcness  and  urbanity  of  tlieir  manners. 

Ships  were  formerly  built  here;  but  from  some  cause  the  business  haa 
been  discontinued.  The  soil  is  exceedingly  fertile  aroimd  tlie  town,  and 
it  has  many  advantages  of  position.  But  it  has  not  flourished  like  some 
other  towns.  One  cause  may  be,  that  it  has  experienced  more  than  once 
inundations  of  the  river,  in  some  of  which  the  water  has  risen  in  the 
principal  streets  eight  or  ten  feet.  Great  numbers  of  buildings,  barns 
and  cattle  were  swept  away.  It  has  also  experienced  severe  sickness. 
But  its  extraordinary  fertility,  and  its  natural  advantages  will  cause  it  to 
become  a  large  town.  It  was  one  of  the  first  settled  towns  in  the  state, 
and  was  originally  laid  out  by  the  Ohio  Company,  in  1787.  In  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  it  was  settled  by  eight  families.  The  first  settlers  were 
from  New  England.  Among  the  founders  of  this  establishment  was 
General  Putnam,  whose  name  and  character  are  recorded  in  the  annals  of 
the  state.  It  is  315  miles  from  Washington,  93  from  Chillicothe,  186 
from  Cincinnati,  and  109  south-eastwardly  from  Columbus.  N.  latitude 
390  25',  W.  longitude  4°  28'. 

Lancaster,  the  seat  of  justice  for  Fairfield  county,  situated  nearly  in 
the  centre  of  it,  is  entirely  an  inland  place.  It  is  near  the  source  of 
Hockhocking  River,  on  the  road  from  Zanesville  to  Chillicothe.  It  is  a 
large,  handsome,  and  well  built  village.  A  considerable  number  of  its 
inhabitants  are  Germans.  It  contains  250  houses,  and  1,535  inhabitants. 
It  has  a  number  of  public  buildings,  as  a  court  house,  town  house,  ma- 
sonic hall,  an  academy,  several  respectable  schools,  4  churches,  12  stores, 
a  bank,  and  two  printing  offices,  from  each  of  which  are  issued  two 
weekly  papers,  in  the  Englisli  and  German  languages.  It  is  a  place  of 
great  mechanical  enterprize  and  industry,  and  connected,  as  it  is,  by  a 
lateral  cut,  with  tlie  great  Ohio  and  Eric  Canal,  it  will  no  longer  suffer 
from  the  inconvenience  of  its  inland  position,  and  will  become  a  place  of 
importance.  It  is  central  to  a  large  and  populous  country,  and  is  situated 
28  miles  south  of  Columbus,  and  3*J  south-westerly  from  Zanesville. 

New  Lisbon,  the  seat  of  justice  for  Columbiana,  is  situated  on  a 
branch  of  the  Little  Beaver,  14  miles  from  the  Ohio.  It  contains  a 
court  house,  jail,  bank,  two  churches,  six  public  houses,  nine  stores,  and 


I'll*      >  ^4 

If!'-?' 


41G 


OHIO. 


%' 


^h 


I    » 

■  * 

ft 

**■ 


in  the  township,  2,183  inliabitants.     It  has  four  merchant,  and  four  sm? 
mills,  a  paper  mill,  two  woollen  factories,  a  fulling  mill  and  carding  ma 
chine.     It  is  situated  5(5  miles  north-westefly  from  Pittsburgh,  and  100 
tiorth-easterly  from  Columbus.     N.  latitude  40°  40',  W.  longitude  3^ 
62'. 

Galliopelis  is  the  chief  town  of  Gallia  county.  It  has  a  court  house, 
jail,  two  churches,  academy,  three  steam  mills,  a  printing  office,  80  houses, 
and  12  stores.  It  was  originally  settled  by  French  immigrants.  They 
had  been  deceived  by  speculators;  and  suffered  severely  by  bilious  fevers, 
in  becoming  acclimated.  Some  left  in  discouragement,  many  died,  and 
the  number  of  tlie  original  French  settlers  is  small. 

St.  Clairsville  is  an  inland  town,  the  county  town  of  Belmont  county, 
and  is  situated  on  elevated  ground,  surrounded  by  hilly,  but  fertile  lands, 
It  has  a  court  house,  jail,  market  house,  printing  office,  a  bank,  15  ^orcs, 
and  800  inhabitants.  It  is  on  the  great  road  from  Wheeling  to  Cincinnati, 
and  distant  11  miles  west  from  the  former  place. 

Portsmouth,  the  chief  town  of  Scioto  county,  is  situated  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Scioto,  just  above  its  junction  with  the  Ohio.  A  great 
amount  of  commission  business  for  the  Scioto  country  is  done  here;  and 
the  position  for  internal  commerce  with  the  state  is  exceedingly  advan 
tageous.  There  is  a  bank,  court  house,  jail,  printing  office,  18  stores,  a 
book  store,  four  commission  stores,  one  druggist,  20  mechanical  estal- 
lishments,  two  churches,  a  steam  mill,  a  market  house,  and  1,063  inhab- 
itants. The  great  Ohio  Canal  here  communicates  with  the  Ohio,  wliicli 
must  at  once  render  this  town  a  place  of  great  consequence.  It  is  45 
miles  south  of  Chillicothe,  and  90  in  the  same  direction  from  Columbus. 
N.  latitude  38°  48',  W.  longitude  5°  53'. 

Circleville,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Scioto,  is  the  county  town  of  Pick- 
away county.  In  the  limits  of  the  town  are  two  Indian  mounds,  the  one 
square  and  the  other  circular.  The  town  derives  its  name  from  being 
chiefly  built  in  the  limits  of  the  circular  mound.  These  mounds  are 
among  the  most  interesting  in  the  western  country,  and  are  described 
elsewhere.  The  town  contains  a  handsome  court  house,  a  printing  office, 
market  house,  10  stores,  and  various  mechanic  shops.  The  rich  Picka 
way  plains  or  prairies  are  near  this  place .  The  adjacent  wooded  lands  oi 
Lower  Walnut  Creek  are  equally  rich;  and  this  town,  central  to  such 
extents  of  fertile  soil,  must  become  of  importance.  The  Ohio  Canal 
passes,  and  here  crosses  the  Scioto  by  the  largest  aqueduct  on  the  line  of 
the  canal.  It  has  recently  exhibited  a  rapid  progress,  and  contains  1,100 
inhabitants.  It  is  situated  twenty  miles  south  of  Columbus,  nineteen 
north  of  Chillicothe,  and  twenty  miles  west  of  liancaster.  N.  latitude 
39o26',W.  longitude  5"  53'. 


m 


OHIO. 


417 


ice,  80  houses, 


Urbana  is  tlie  county  town  of  Chainpfiiwne  county,  near  Mad  River. 
It  contains  a  court  house,  jail,  printing  oflice,  a  Methodist  ;ui(i  Prcsby- 
iBfian  church,  a  market  house, '.)  stores,  120  houses,  tmd  1,{){Y,1  inhabit- 
ants. It  is  distant  13  miles  north-west  from  Columbus.  N.  latitude 
40°  3',  W.  longitude  (5°  4'. 

Xenia,  the  county  town  of  Green  county,  is  situated  on  Shawnee 
Creek,  and  contains  a  court  house,  jail,  three  churches,  two  printing 
offices,  10  stores,  and  910  inhabitants.  It  is  distant  50  miles  south-west 
from  Columbus . 

Dayton,  the  chief  town  of  Montgomery  county,  is  charmingly  situated 
on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Great  Miami,  just  below  the  confluence  of 
Mad  River,  near  where  the  Mijuni  Canal  connects  with  the  Miami.  The 
waters  of  Mad  River  are  artificially  conducted  from  that  river  to  the  Miami, 
so  as  to  afford  a  great  number  of  mill  scats. 

It  contains  235  houses,  and  135  slio])s  and  stores,  total  370;  four 
churches,  a  court  house,  a  market  house,  and  jail.  In  1810  the  popula- 
tion was  383;  in  1820  1,130;  in  1830  2,034.  The  population  of  the 
township  is  6,583.  In  1828  70  buildings  were  erected,  and  probably  a 
greater  number  last  year.  No  town  in  the  state  afibrds  more  extensive 
water  privileges,  which  are  partly  occupied  by  a  number  of  saw  mills, 
grist  mills,  cotton  factories,  and  vai'ious  sorts  of  machinery  moved  by 
water. 

The  striking  increase  of  its  prosperity  is  owing  to  its  being  the  termin- 
ating point  of  the  Miami  Canal,  connecting  it  with  Cincinnati.  It  is 
central  to  a  rich  and  populous  agricultural  country,  the  trade  of  which  this 
town  commands.  It  is  expected  that  the  canal  will  lie  continued  to  lake 
Erie.  It  is  situated  6S  miles  south-west  from  Columbus,  and  52  by  land, 
and  67  by  the  canal  from  Cincinnati.     N.  latitude  30°  40'. 

Lebanon  is  the  county  town  for  Warren  county.  It  is  Ictwecn  two 
small  branches  of  Turtle  Creek.  It  has  the  usual  j)ublic  buildings,  two 
churches  of  brick,  and  a  jail  of  stone,  two  market  houses,  a  bank,  a 
printing  office,  and  a  respectable  social  library.  The  surrcu nding  country 
has  fine  land.  It  contained  in  1820,  1,070  inhabitants.  It  is  distant  80 
miles  south-westerly  from  Columbus;  and  30  miles  north-easterly  from 
Cincinnati.     N.  latitude  39°  25' ,  W.  longitude  7°  5'. 

Athens  is  the  county  town  of  Athens  county.  It  is  situated  on  an 
elevated  bluff  in  a  bend  of  the  ITockhocking,  in  a  position  equally  beau- 
tiful and  healthy.  In  this  village  is  located  the  Ohio  University.  Theit; 
is  already  erected  for  the  accommodation  of  this  institution  a  handsome 
edifice  three  stories  high.  The  funds,  the  library,  and  philosophical  ap- 
paratus are  respectable;  and  it  promises  to  be  an  institution  of  great 
utility  to  the  interests  of  the  literature  of  the  slate.     'J'ho  town  contains 

53 


n 


'/ih*r 


%m 


# 


418 


OHIO. 


■J*' 


*5* 


40  houses,  a  number  of  stores,  a  court,  house,  a  jail,  and  has  several 
mills  on  the  river  in  its  vicinity,  and  750  inhabitants.  It  is  73  miles  south- 
east from  Columbus,  41  westerly  from  Marietta,  and  52  east  from  Chilh- 
cothe.     N.  latitude  39°  23',  W.  longitude  5°  5'. 

Cleaveland,  situated  on  the  southern  shore  of  lake  Erie,  is  the  county 
town  of  Cuyahoga  county.  Its  position  is  at  the  mouth  of  Cuyahoga 
River.  During  the  late  war,  it  was  a  depot  of  provisions;  and  a  place 
where  many  boats,  and  lake  crafts  were  built;  and  it  is  a  noted  point  of 
embarkation  on  the  lake.  It  is  a  growing  place,  having  four  churches, 
a  court  house,  jail,  an  academy,  180  houses,  40  stores,  9  groceries,  6 
taverns,  and  1,200  inhabitants.  It  is  distant  130  miles  westward  from 
Pittsburgh,  and  150  north-easierly  from  Columbus.  N.  latitude  41°  31', 
W.  longitude  4°  44'.  The  great  Ohio  Canal  here  connects  with  the  lake, 
and  passes  through  the  central  parts  of  Ohio,  preserving  for  some  distance 
a  course  parallel  to  the  Scioto;  and  finally  connecting  with  the  Ohio  near 
the  mouth  of  that  river.  This  town,  intermediate  between  Buffalo  and 
Cincinnati,  ^nd  the  depot  of  the  vast  amounts  of  merchandise  destined 
east  and  west,  will  not  fail  soon  to  become  an  important  town. 

Sandusky,  in  Huron  county,  on  the  southern  shore  of  Sandusky  Bay,  is 
one  of  the  most  important  ports  on  Lake  Erie.  Its  area  rises  gradually 
from  the  lake,  of  which,  its  passing  sails,  and  the  surrounding  country  it 
commands  a  charming  view.  Though  a  new  place  it  has  ten  stores,  a 
printing  office,  the  xisual  number  of  mechanic  establishments,  public 
houses,  a  ship  yard,  a  rope  walk  and  9  wharves.  This  is  one  of  the  chief 
points  of  landing  and  embarkation  between  the  Mississipi  valley  and  New 
York,  Buffalo  and  Detroit.  In  1828,  1,319,823  dollars  worth  of  mer- 
chandise was  landed  here.  In  1830  there  were  over  500  arrivals  at  this 
port,  and  about  2,000  wagons  dispatched  with  dry  goods  and  groceries 
for  all  points  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  country  below.  A  turnpike, 
now  constructing  will  connect  this  town  with  Columbus.  It  is  distant 
70  miles  south  from  Detroit,  230  south-west  from  Buffalo,  60  west  from 
Cleaveland,  and  106  north  from  Columbus.  N.  latitude  41°  27'.  The 
principal  harbors  on  Lake  Erie,  are  Put-in-Bay,  Maumee  Bay,  Fair  Port, 
and  Ashtabula  Creek. 

Ashtabula,  a  post  town  of  Ashtabula  county,  is  situated  two  miles  from 
the  entrance  of  Ashtabula  River  into  the  lake,  and  has  a  post  office, 
tavern,  two  churches,  a  weekly  newspaper,  and  five  stores.  A  turnpike 
connects  it  with  Warren,  the  seat  of  justice  for  Trumbull  county.  A 
sloop  loaded  with  a  certain  kind  of  boards  for  clock  making,  departed 
from  this  place  down  the  lake,  the  New- York  canal,  the  Hudson  and 


.4fc 


41 


OHIO 


410 


Long-Island  Sound,  and  arrived  after  a  passage  of  25  days  at  New-Haven, 
Connecticut.  A  Schooner,  burtlien  49  tons,  departed  from  Huron 
county  and  arrived  at  New-York. 

Baltimore,  in  Fairfield  county,  25  miles  south-cast  from  Columbus,  is 
situated  on  the  Oliio  and  Erie  canal,  and  has  grown  to  be  a  respectable 
village  within  the  three  past  years.  It  already  contains  200  houses,  six 
stores,  a  great  number  of  mechanic  establishments,  and  500  inhab- 
itants. 

Massillon,  in  Stark  county,  on  tlie  east  branch  of  Tuscarawas,  was  laid 
out  in  1826,  and  grew  into  immediate  consequence  from  being  for  a 
considerable  time  the  termination  of  the  Ohio  and  Erie  canal.  It 
contains  a  printing  office,  eight  stores,  two  merchant  (lour  mills,  four 
ware  houses,  and  a  woollen  factory.  It  is  111  miles  north-east  from 
Columbus. 

Newark  is  the  county  town  of  Licking  county.  It  is  the  present  termi- 
nation of  the  Ohio  and  Pjrie  canal,  176  miles  distant  from  its  outlet  in 
lake  Erie.  It  contains  250  houses,  10  stores,  five  taverns,  two  printing 
offices,  two  ware  houses,  a  market  house,  a  church,  and  the  usual  county 
buildings.    It  is  33  miles  north  of  Columbus. 

Canton,  the  county  town  for  Stark  county,  contains  200  dwelling 
houses,  215  families,  1496  inhabitants;  two  printing  offices,  two  churches, 
six  schools,  five  ministers,  15  stores,  and  the  usual  number  of  mechanic 
shops.    It  is  120  miles  north-east  of  Columbus  i 

Warren,  New  Philadelphia,  Wooster,  Mansfield,  Coshocton,  Somerset, 
Delaware,  Worthinglon,  Franklinton,  Hillsboro,  Pikelon,  Springfield, 
Pickaway,  Troy,  Euton,  Hamilton,  and  New  Richmond,  are  most  of  them 
county  towns,  and  some  of  them  will  compare  in  size  with  those  we  have 
mentioned. 

Fifty  other  incipient  villages  might  be  named,  which  are  rapidly 
growing  to  consequence,  and  which,  seen  by  the  traveller,  excite  surprize, 
that  ho  has  not  heard  tliem  named.  Such  is  the  march  of  town  making 
and  population,  that  the  scene  is  shifting  under  the  eye,  and  the  descrip- 
tion of  towns  and  villages,  that  is  accurate  this  year,  may  be  wide  from 
accuracy  the  next.  Another  inconvenience  results  from  this  order  of 
things.  Towns  are  originated  in  such  numbers  and  rapidity,  as  to  have 
outgrown  the  invention  of  the  founders.  For  example,  there  are  19 
townships  of  the  name  of  Jefferson,  find  24  of  the  name  of  Washington. 
Other  names  of  places  are  repeated  from  four  to  ten  times.  While  this 
circumstance  is  imfavorable  to  tho  right  direction  of  missives  sent  by 
mail,  it  argues  strongly  (he  matter  of  fact  character  of  the  people,  who 
can  make  fields,  towns,  mills,  and  legislators,  easier  than  the  latter 
ran  task  their  invention  for  names. 


1 


^[^ 


420 


OHIO. 


The  following  military  positione  occur  so  often  in  the  history  of  lhi§ 
state,  that  wo  deem  it  important  to  give  their  relative  position.  Fort 
DcPancc  is  situnted  at  the  junclion  of  Au  Glaizo  and  Maumce  rivers,  50 
miles  sout!i-wcst  of  Fort  IMci/:,'s.  Fort  Loniniic  is  on  the  head  waters 
of  the  Big  Miami,  and  one  of  the  boundary  positions  referred  to  in  the 
Greenville  treaty.  Fort  Mei^js  was  eroctctl  in  1813,  on  the  south-eastern 
bank  of  the  Maumce,  a  few  niiled  from  il.s  mouth,  at  the  lower  rapids  of 
the  river;  distant  southerly  from  Detroit,  70  miles.  It  is  noted  for  the 
siege,  which  it  sustained  from  the  British  and  Indians  in  April  and  May 
1813.  Fort  Recovery  was  established  by  general  Wayne.  The  disas- 
trous defeat  of  our  troops  commanded  by  general  St.  Clair,  by  the 
Indians,  occurred  here,  in  1795.  It  is  situated  2.'3  miles  northwardly  of 
Fort  Loramie.  Fort  Greenville  is  one  of  the  most  noted  points  in  the 
history  of  Ohio;  and  was  one  of  the  fust  fortificp.lions  erected  in  the  country. 
It  is  in  the  present  limits  of  Darke  county,  and  a  few  miles  east  of  the  western 
hmits  of  this  state.  Here,  in  179rj,  was  concluded  the  celebrated  treaty 
of  general  Wayne  with  the  savages,  after  his  memorable  victory  over  them. 
From  this  treaty,  the  country  began  to  increase  in  population. 

Roads  and  Canals.  The  common  public  roads,  as  might  be  inferred, 
are  too  numerous  to  be  named.  Tiio  country  being  level,  they  seldom 
have  the  inconvenience  of  being  hilly;  but  the  soil  being  deep  and  loamy, 
and  most  of  them  little  wrought,  in  wet  weather  and  in  winter  they 
are  exceedingly  bad.  There  are  five  considerable  turnpikes,  beside  many 
shorter  ones.  The  length  of  the  first  is  10  miles;  of  the  second  48;  of 
the  third  51 ;  of  the  fourth  lOG.  This  connects  Sandusky  with  Columbusj 
and  is  not  yet  complete.  The  fifth  is  the  McAdamized  road  leading  from 
Cincinnati  to  the  interior,  of  which  the  first  division  only  is  completed. 
The  national  road  is  completed  30  or  40  miles  west  from  the  Ohio;  and 
is  McAdamized  in  the  best  manner. 

The  grand  canal,  connecting  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio,  passes  nearly 
through  the  centre  of  the  state,  from  Cleaveland  on  the  lake  to  Ports- 
mouth on  the  Ohio.  The  whole  distance  is  306  miles  Lateral  cuts 
are  made,  or  making,  amounting  to  40  miles  more.  The  canal  is  of  the 
same  depth,  and  dimensions  and  construction  with  the  great  New-York 
canal.  It  is  nearly  completed,  and  will  be  in  full  operation  in  1832. 
This  WQjiderful  work  of  uniting  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  Atlan- 
tic has  already  imparted  a  new  aspect  to  the  country,  through  which  it 
passes,  and  has  in  many  places  quadrupled  the  value  of  the  land  near  its 
course. 

.„.;  The  Miami  canal,  07  miles  in  length,  connects  Cincinnati  with  Dayton. 
To  this  a  considerable  lateral  cut  is  expected  to  be  made  from  Lebanon. 
Others  are  in  contemplation.     Those  noble  and  beautiful  modes  of  trans- 


t 


OHIO. 


421 


jwrt  will  soon  siiperaoile  tlu?  draught  of  boasts  of  bnnlen  on  deep  and 
muddy  roads,  inallpr;icticai)le  directions.  Tlio  cost  of  these  canals  will 
be  between  three  and  four  millions  of  dollars. 

Surveys  have  hceii  made,  :uul  grants  of  land  iVoni  the  General  Gov- 
ernment obtained  for  continuinn[  the  Dayton  Canal  to  Jj-ake  Erie. 

Militia.  Few  descriptions  of  tlic  inhabitants  arc  exempted  from  mili- 
tary duty.  The  militia  of  this  state  is  principally  composed  of  hardy 
agriculturists,  and  exceeds  10{),000  men. 

Penitentiary.  This  establishment,  at  Columbus,  is  a  humane  and 
efficient  one.  Of  the  great  numbers,  who  have  been  confined  here 
nearly  half  have  been  pardoned  out. 

Government.  'The  k\<:fisl!itive  authority  is  vested  in  a  Senate  and 
House  of  Representatives,  both  of  which,  collectively,  are  styled  the 
General  Assembly  of  Ohio.  The  members  of  both  branches  are  elected 
by  counties,  or  districts  composed  of  counties,  according  to  population. 
The  representatives  are  chosen  fur  one  year;  and  for  eligilulity  a  man 
must  be  at  least  25  years  of  age,  have  resided  in  the  state  at  least  one 
year,  and  paid  a  tax.  TJieir  numl)er  m\ist  never  exceed  72  nor  be  less 
than  36.  The  Senate  is  composed  of  members  elected  for  two  years, 
who  must  not  exceed  one  half,  nor  fall  short  of  one-third  of  the  number  in 
the  House  of  Representatives.  The  present  numbers  are  33  Senators, 
and  69  Representatives.  A  Senator  nnist  be  at  least  30  years  of  age, 
and  have  resided  two  years  in  the  district  from  which  he  is  chosen.  The 
General  Assembly  has  the  sole  power  of  enacting  all  the  state  laws;  the 
assent  or  signature  of  the  Governor  not  being  necessary  in  any  case  what- 
ever. 

'The  judiciary  system  comprises  three  several  grades  of  courts,  viz : 
The  Supreme  Court,  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  and  Justice's  Courts . 
The  justices  of  the  peace  are  chosen  triennially  by  the  people  themselves, 
in  each  township  respectively.  They  arc  conservators  of  the  peace 
throughout  the  country;  but  have  no  civil  jurisdiction  out  of  their  town- 
ships. The  state  is  divided  into  nine  judicial  circuits  for  Courts  of 
Common  Pleas,  in  each  of  which  is  a  presiding  judge,  styled  President; 
and  in  each  county  of  which  the  district  is  composed,  three  associate 
judges,  all  elected  by  the  legislature,  for  7  years.  These  courts  are  held 
three  times  a  year  in  each  county.  The  Supreme  Court  consists  of  four 
judges,  who  hold  a  court  once  a  year  in  each  county  throughout  the  state. 
They  are  likewise  chosen  by  the  legislature  for  scvcu  years. 

'The  supreme  executive  authority  is  vested  in  a  Governor  chosen 
biennially  by  the  people.  He  must  be  30  years  of  ago,  and  have  resided 
in  the  state  at  least  four  years.  He  is  commander-in-chief  of  the  militia, 
and  commissions  all  officers  in  the  state,  both  civil  and  military.     In  case 


%i 


m 


m 


M 


» 


432 


OHIO. 


of  disability,  or  vacancy  in  his  place,  the  Speaker  of  (he  Senate  acts  as 
Governor,  until  the  next  succeeding  regular  elcctinn.  The  qualifications 
of  a  freeman  are  the  age  of  21,  resident  in  the  state,  and  the  payment 
of  a  tax.' 

In  whatever  aspect  we  contemplate  this  wonderful  state,  the  mind  is 
aflfected  with  surprise  and  pleasure.  We  experience  surprise,  for  the 
history  of  colonies  affords  no  similar  example  of  a  colony  of  equal  num- 
bers, improvement  and  prosperity  so  rapidly  springing  from  a  solid  forest 
wilderness,  with  no  adventitious  aid,  except  tlie  fertility  of  its  lands,  tin; 
freedom  of  its  institutions,  and  the  enterprising  character  of  the  American 
people.  The  real  lover  of  freedom,  who  firmly  believes  in  the  strength 
and  perpetuity  of  our  institutions,  contemplates  the  prospect  with  un- 
mingled  pleasure.  Ohio,  all  things  considered,  and  her  character  and 
institutions  carefully  analyzed,  is  the  most  completely  democratic  com- 
munity with  which  we  are  acquainted.  Here,  if  the  enemies  of  demo- 
cracy were  to  be  credited,  ought  to  be  found  the  moat  revolting  effects  of 
ferocity  and  misrule.  Insurrection  and  anarchy  and  lawless  violence 
should  be  the  order  of  things.  This  state,  on  the  contrary,  is  making 
great  exertions  to  diffuse  general  education;  and  there  is  not,  perhaps,  In 
the  world,  a  more  peaceable  and  orderly  community,  or  one  where  the 
people  are  more  entirely  obedient  to  the  laws. 


>,'■,'■  ^'  -  "-.fr 


0^ 


tion,  consic 


I  ■ 

1 


m 


WEST   PENNSYIiVANIA 


That  part  of  Pennsylvania  watered  by  the  Ohio  and  its  branches,  is 
situated  west  of  the  great  dividing  ridge  of  tho  Alleghanies,  that  separates 
the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  from  those  of  the  Ohio.  Among  these  ridges 
the  principal  are  Peter^s  Mountain,  Tuscarora  Mountain,  Sideling  Hill, 
Jack's  Mountain,  and  Bald  Eagle  Ridge.  West  of  these  is  the  Great 
Alleghany  Ridge,  which  separates  between  the  eastern  and  western 
waters.  The  base  of  this  ridge  is  1,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  the  elevation  of  the  mountain  above  the  base  is  from  1,000  to  1,500 
feet.  About  one-third  of  the  surface  of  Pennsylvania  is  west  of  these 
mountains,  and  watered  by  the  Ohio  and  its  waters.  The  face  of  tho 
country  generally  is  hilly,  rolling,  and  in  some  places  mountainous. 
Except  in  the  regions  about  Lake  Erie,  very  little  of  West  Pennsylvania 
can  be  called  level.  West  Pennsylvania  contains  considerably  more  than 
200,000  inhabitants. 

There  is  a  college  at  Cannonsburgh,  in  an  elevated  and  pleasant  siua- 
tion.  It  is  an  institution  of  considerable  importance,  but  too  near  the 
college  at  Washington  to  admit  the  supposition,  that  both  the  institutions 
can  flourish.  The  college  edifice  makes  a  respectable  appearance. 
The  college  at  Washington  is  situated  in  that  pleasant  village,  in  the 
centre  of  a  populous  and  thriving  country.  It  has  a  collegiate  founda- 
tion, considerable  funds  and  endowments,  and  has  graduated  between 
20  and  30  students  in  some  years. 

The  system  of  common  schools  in  West  Pennsylvania  does  not  mate- 
rially differ  from  that  east  of  the  mountains.  There  is  less  inequality 
of  condition  among  the  people,  and  the  modes  of  conducting  schools  are 
more  similar  to  those  of  New  England. 


•■N 


4ai 


WErr    I'LNNSVIAANI.V. 


4^ 


'X 


Tlio  inhabitants  arc  ^'(juerally  u  liardy,  rol.iist,  and  indiislriouH  race,' 
in  their  habits,  puv.siiit.s,  and  modes  of  ti.inkinf,',  sis  well  as  their  persons, 
much  rcsemblinjif  the  people  of  New  Iji^flmid.  Tlic  climate,  thou;.'li 
something  milder,  is  not  much  unlike  that  (tf  Connecticut.  The  iK'f)plc, 
like  those  of  New  Kngland,  are  generally  addicted  to  habits  of  religious 
worship,  and  to  connecting  themselves  to  some  religious  society.  Their 
trade  is  with  Pittsburgh,  or  Canada,  and  New  York,  by  the  way  of  Lake 
Erie.  Beside  the  county  towns.  West  Peimsylvania  contains  the  following 
considerable  villages.  Connelsville,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Youghiogeny, 
noted  for  the  important  mills  and  manufuclorics  in  its  neighborhood, 
contains  SOO  inhabitants. 

Brownsville  is  situated  on  the  cast  side  of  Ihc  Monongahela  River. 
The  great  national  road  passes  through  it.  It  is  surrounded  with  fine 
orchards  and  fields,  in  a  rich,  picturesque,  and  rciinantic  country,  and  has 
some  fine  stone  buildings  in  and  about  it,  and  about  1,'^00  inhabitants. 
Bridgeport  is  a  village  opposite  to  Brownsville.  Cannonsburgh  is  on  the 
West  side  of  Chartier's  Creek,  8  miles  north  of  Washington.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  «,  hilly,  but  fertile  country.  Erie,  beautifully  situated  on  the 
south  side  of  Lake  Erie,  is  a  thriving  village.  It  is  a  stopping  place  for 
steam  boats  that  pass  up  the  lake,  and  used  to  be  called  Presq'  Isle.  It 
is  the  seat  of  justice  for  Erie  county,  and  in  N.  latitude  42°  21',  120 
miles  north  of  Pittsburgh.  A  portage  from  the  lake  to  the  navigable 
waters  of  the  Alleghany  River,  commences  hero.  The  distance  is  15 
miles;  and  the  two  places  are  connected  by  a  turnpike.  Immense  quan. 
tities  of  salt  used  to  be  transported  over  this  portage.  It  was  brought 
from  the  Great  Saline  in  New  York,  and  was  sent  down  the  Ohio,  for  the 
supply  of  the  country  on  its  waters.  But  salt  is  now  made  so  cheaply 
and  abundantly  on  the  Ohio  and  its  waters,  that  this  trade  is  in  a  great 
measure  suspended.  A  great  deal  of  trade,  however,  still  passes  this 
way,  both  that  of  articles  for  New  York  from  the  western  country,  and  of 
articles  sent  from  New  York  to  the  western  country.  In  the  year  1800, 
58,000  barrels  of  salt  were  sent  across  this  turnpike  to  Pittsburgh. 

Waterford  is  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  French  Creek,  a  considera 
ble  river  of  the  Alleghany ;  and  is  the  place  where  the  portage  from  Erie 
terminates.  It  is  a  village  of  considerable  business,  and  has  a  post  office, 
a  number  of  stores,  inns,  and  commission  warehouses,  and  is  L5  miles 
south  of  Erie.  Mcadville  is  near  French  Creek,  and  has  several  stores, 
inns,  and  public  buildings,  a  post  office  and  printing  office,  two  churches, 
and  a  college,  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Alden.  Dr.  Bently,  late  of 
Salem,  Massachusetts,  bequeathed  a  very  considerable  library  to  this 
college.  Franklin,  Kittanning,  and  Freeport  are  inconsiderable  villages 
between  this  place  and  Pittsburgh.     A  considerable  tract  of  country  in 


!dl**t 


*■ 


.'^- 


n 


\N  r:sT  im:nnsyi.vania. 


425 


the  soiitli-wpst  aiiL'lc  of  New- Yuri;  in  wiitcrcd  by  the  lictui  waters  of  the 
AllcL'Iiaiiy.  Ill  Nfw-Ycrk  priiu-ipnlly,  niul  ;ilnii'.f  tlic  upper  tourses  of 
the  Allcj/liaiiy  r-rrl'iuiid  1I:''F(m'a;>._>  and  nolilo  piiio  I'nreslH,  v.liciiccurc 
c;iniod  thu  boiiri'.s  ami  lum!.cr,  which  sup[)iy  tlio  /^loater  p;irt  of  the 
(U'linnd  for  ihis  aiticloin  all  1  ho  v.cs'toni  coir.itry,  and  (piite  to  New 
Orleans.  Nearly  Ut),000,()Ol)  i'cct  of  plank  descend  the  Alleghany  annu- 
ally In  rotuni,  heel  Ijoafa  cnny  1. :;(•!;  wluKkfy,  iioii,  east infifs,  cider, 
apples,  haron,  and  nu'.ny  oilu;r  domcritic  ariicle-j.  The  brig  Dean,  and 
(he  Sally  Jlos^,  anil  Koveral  other  vessels  of  l.''irtl;en  have  been  launched 
oil  the  AlUi^hany,  and  have  des^endod  thence  to  New  Orleans.  The 
Alleghany  is  4{H)  yan!rf  wi.'e  at  its  r.ioulh.  Aniens  the  natural  curios- 
ities in  this  region  is  Oil  Creel:,  which  enters  into  llio  Alleghany.  Tiio 
spring  source  of  this  creek  yields  great  quantities  of  bituminous,  or  unc- 
tuous matter,  likn  pcinJeum;  and  pr  .b.vbly  is  that  nubslance.  It  is 
taken  internally,  as  a  niedieinc;  and  the  r!ioumt:tic  Ihid  relief, by  bathing 
the  joints  ullcctcd  with  that  cornplaiat,  with  this  oil.  Many  people  at 
Pittslmrgh  keep  this  oil  in  bottles,  and  atfaeh  nnieh  contidence  to  it,  as 
containing  some  mysterion.^  r(iie;;ry. 

All  parts  of  the  wcs'ern  c  iintry  seem  admirably  accommodated 
the  one  to  the  o'.her;  the  one  part  sui);)lying  what  the  other  wonted. 
The  country  on  thu  Allcgh.aiiy  is  in;i(h  of  it  broken,  sterile,  and  not 
calculated  to  become  a  rieh  fariniu"'  country.  It  conlaijis  iiicxluiustible 
supplies  of  the  finest  liimlcr;  and  inr.ui.ieruMc  mill  .seats.  Pittsburgh, 
and  the  country  liehAv  il,  can  amply  .s'lpply  all  tl:e  wautii  of  this  region, 
as  regards  protlucc,  mauuficturcs  and  arlicics  of  iron  fabi'ic.  In  retur-v, 
mills  with  water-power,  arc  very  uncon»riK;n  about  Pittsburgh,  and  the 
adjacent  country  naturally  calls  for  the  lumber  of  the  Alleghany.  Steam 
boats  have  recently  ascended  this  river  almost  to  its  source. 

In  describing  the  Allegliaiiy  un;l  its  waters,  wo  have  named  the  prin- 
cipal streams  from  Pennsylvania  and  iNcw-Yoik,  that  swell  that  fine 
river.  There  is  one  creek,  that  v. e  Iiavo  not  nunitioncd;  a  tributary  of 
the  Alleghany,  that  deserves  nicnliou  were  it  only  f  :r  tlie  name,  Muhul- 
buctitum. 

Economy,  the  present  seat  of  Mr.  Rapp's  establishment,  formerly  at 
New  Ifarmony,  is  on  the  uorlli  bank  of  the  Ohio,  18  miles  below 
Pittsburgh.  It  contains  many  faeiories,  a  liii'gj  church,  a  commodious 
hotel,  a  museum  containing  ;l  luiitic  room  and  dining  hall,  all  laid  out 
with  the  utmost  neatness  ami  rcgnlarily,  and  tJ30  inluibitants.  At  the  east 
end  of  the  town  is  a  park  containing  deer,  a  large  vineyard  and  a  beauti- 
ful orchard.  It  is  almost  exclusively  a  manufacturing  establishment. 
It  is  a  community  of  a  peculiar  character. 

51 


#*■. 


420 


WEST    Pr.NNSYLVANI.i. 


Pittsburgh,  iti  Ihc  extent  of  Ikt  inaiuirirliiros,  i«  ihr  only  livril  of 
Cincinnati,  in  tlin  West.  In  popnlntiini,  wcnllli  and  iinporlnnro  it  in  n(^xf 
to  that  city;  nnd  the  third  in  the  vnllcy  of  the  MinHissippi.  A  more 
charming  spot  for  tiio  site  of  a  city  could  srrucily  he  selected.  No  plme 
18  fliirroundcd  by  more  ch.irn;in^ly  rounded  and  romantic  lulls;  and  ilio 
boundless  view  of  hill  anddahj,  the  All'-^iliuiy  l)rin;,'in,«?  down  its  northern 
tribute  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  .Mononf>:ihola  its  Hoiithcrn  otleriii[j  on 
the  other,  the  ainpular  hlulls  of  these  rivers,  their  conjunelion,  the  hrond 
and  beautiful  Ohio,  cahuly  roniineiieiu;',  its  course  of  l,0(lt)  niilcg 
and  winding  away  anionfj  its  deep  forests,  and  Hln)res  shaded  hy  noble  syc 
amorcs,  the  town,  its  surroundiiiif  v:.llies,  and  the  whole  scene  tjikcn 
together,  as  seen  from  the  adjoiniu;,'  hills,  ct^nstilulo  as  lino  a  landscape, 
as  can  well  be  irnaf/ined.  The  town  i^  built  on  an  alluvial  plain,  in  the 
delta  of  the  two  rivers,  wiiere  they  uiiito  to  form  the  Ohio.  Over  tlm 
Alleghany  is  a  high  aiul  bcaulil'id  plain  hounded  in  the  distance  by  hold 
and  rugged  hills.  The  coal  hill,  across  the  Monongahela,  rises  more 
than  300  feet;  and  alniopt  perpen(li;ularly  impends  a  town,  between  it 
and  the  river.  On  the  iMon(»ii;.falie!a  side  is  a  manufiicturing  villnjre, 
called  Birmingham ;  and  to  match  it,  on  the  Alleiihany  side  another  manu 
facturing  town.  Both  arc  connected  wita  the  city  h  noble  and 
long  bridges  over  these  two  rivers. 

It  is  well  known  that  tho  site  of  this  town  was  selected  at  an  early 
period  in  tho  French  wars,  as  nn  important  i  int  in  the  great  chain  of 
posts,  which  was  to  connect  Canada  with  Louisiana.  It  had  been,  for 
a  considerable  time,  a  depot  of  French  gocds  for  tho  savages;  a  place  of 
outfits  for  the  trade  of  the  Ohio,  and  a  military  pest,  to  defend  the 
country  against  the  occupancy  and  settlement  of  the  FiUglish,  and  to 
secure  to  the  inhabitants  tho  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  the  savages; 
when  Braddock  was  sent  to  dispossess  the  French,  and  capture  the  post 
of  Fort  Du  Quesnc,  as  it  was  then  called.  Alter  the  fatal  battle,  in 
which  he  was  mortally  wounded,  and  in  which  Washington  gained  his 
first  laurels,  colonel  Grant  with  800  Calcdoni  ns  was  defeated  here  on 
the  hill,  which  still  bears  his  name.  Not  lon>^  .il'ter,  it  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  British,  and  they  built  a  fori  at  the  expense  of  (50,000 
pounds  sterling.  It  was  built  under  the  superintendence  of  lord  Stanwin. 
In  1760,  a  considerable  town  arose  about  the  fort.  Beautiful  gardens 
and  fruit  orchards  were  planted ;  but  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Indian 
war,  in  1763,  the  inhabitants  again  retired  into  the  fort.  The  present 
town  of  Pittsburgh  dates  back  to  1765.  Its  plan  was  enlarged,  and  it 
was  re-surveyed,  in  1784.  It  then  belonged  u,  the  Penn  family,  as  a  part 
of  their  hereditary  manor.    By  them  it  was  sold.    The  Indian  wars,  and 


^ 


\VE«T   PCNXSVLVAMA. 


487 


the  troul»lc9  in  tlio  wji.ilciu  ooiintry  prcventiil  its  ripiil  yrowtli,  until  th« 
veur  i71)t).  Sincu  tliat  titnc.  it  Ii;im  iiicrca^xil  on  tlio  saiiic  uculo  of 
jjuproveuK'nt  with  tlio    inont  [.'rowing  tnwiia  of  llio    West. 

It  is  Hiii)|»li(;il  1  y  writer  by  :i  liiyli  prr^^mr  Hteaiu  cii;^fiin.'  of  N-l  lior^O 
pjvvtr,  wliicli  raises  (lie  wilier  110  feel  nliovo  the  Alle(»liaiiy  Iliver.  A 
luiliion  and  ii  liiiif  ^mIIoiim  of'  water  can  l)c  raised  in  Ml  liuuru.  Tlicae 
works  went  into  operation  in  lS\iN. 

The  eliiirclies  in  thi.^  ( ilVMien  IJaplist,  Uoiiian  Catliulic,  Coventintera', 
Stveders',  a  Metliodisl  cliiireh,  (iernian  l.utJKiran  rliureli,  Union  eluirch, 
Kjiijicnp.-il  eliurcli,  first  and  sccdiid  Presl)yterian  cliiirclics,  Unitarian 
churili,  .'■•ediid  ]Millio(li:4  eliiin  li,  and  an  African  chureli,  making  a 
totnl  of  in.  Tlie  <illier  public  liuildin<,'3  iirc  the  Western  University 
ui  I'ennsylvaiiia,  l'illHl)iir«.di  llii;!!  »S{|iool,  l*ittsl)urf.'li  Kxelumge, 
Mansion  House,  and  Iljlel,  Lanibdin^s  inuscuni,  the  U.  S  bank  uud 
the  Pillsburi.di  bank.  There  ure  11  ]ar<.\e  cstal'liihments  of  iron  found- 
ries, in  w'liieh  were  nianiiliietiired  from  pi'is,  in  IH.M),  r),'.i;{l)  tons.  There 
Qfu  six  roHinif  mills  ami  hm  works  with  ii:iil  I'lrlories  allaehed,  in  which 
were  laaimfacMired  in  llie  same  yeur  'z,'.'')!)  tons  of  pi;j;s  into  blooms; 
iiml  ^',NOr>  touii  into  iip.ils.  There  are  four  larj.';c  cotton  factoric?,  in  the 
Inrgcstof  whieh  are  li>,0110  spindles,  .«i)innin^j  l,lUOpouMtls  of  yarn  weekly. 
There  ure  two  larj^e  (!sl!d)lish!nents  of  glass  works;  and  XJ70  other  Lirgo 
manufacturing  e;ital;litlm.ents  of  a  miseellnneous  eharaetcr.  Tho 
suburl-s  of  Pittsbiu'gh  are  Alleiihany  Town,  N()rlli(>rn  Jiiberties,  Birming- 
ham on  the  siulh  ijaidi  of  the  iMo!u.n;rahela,  liawreucovilic-East  Liberty, 
and  remainder  of  PiU  t(Avn;<lii|).  I'opulatiun  of  the  city  proper  12,540^ 
nnd  of  the  suburbs  \),\>Sii.     Total,  ii'J,  ILMj, 

The  town  iseompuclly,  luul  in  some  streets  handsomely  built;  although 
the  universal  use  of  pit  coal  for  culinary  uud  manufacturing  purposes  has 
carried  such  quantities  of  fnie  black  matter,  driven  olfin  the  smoke  into 
the  air,  and  deposited  it  on  the  walls  of  the  houses,  and  every  thing,  that  can 
he  blackened  with  coal  smoke,  as  to  have  given  the  town  a  gloomy  aspect. 
Its  position  and  advantages,  as  a  nianuf  icturing  town,  and  its  acknowl- 
edged healthfulness  will  continue,  however,  to  render  it  a  jjlace  of  attrac- 
tion for  builders,  manufacturers  and  capitalists.  ' 

At  the  present  time  the  following  articles  arc  minufaclured  en  a  great 
scale.  Iron  mongery  of  every  description,  steam  engines,  and  enginery, 
and  iron  work  in  general;  cutlery  of  all  descriptions;  glass  and  paper 
cotton,  and  woollens,  pottery,  chemicals,  tin,  and  copper  ware  arc  manu- 
factured, and  exported  to  a  great  extent.  Boat  and  steam  boat  building 
have  been  pursued  here  on  a  greater  scale,  than  in  any  other  town  in  the 
western  country.  So  long  ago  as  1814,  4,055  waggons  of  four  and  six 
horses,  employed,  as  transport  waggons,  passed  between  this  place  and 


f 


■■f'll 


^  -mm 


X 


W 


428 


WTJST   PENNSYLVANIA. 


a 


h" 


Philadelphia.  Boats  of  tlio  smullcr  kinds  arc  conf  imial'y  dcj)!irtin<T  down 
the  river  at  all  season?,  v/hcn  the  waters  will  admit.  In  moderate  stnrrcH 
of  tho  river,  great  numbers  of  steam  boats  arrive,  and  depart.  Of  conrsp, 
this  place  transacts  a  .q-reat  amnnnt  of  commission  bu.sincss  for  all  tho 
western  country,  fire.it  contracts  are  continually  ordered  from  all  tho 
towns  on  the  waters  of  tlic  Cliio  and  Rllssijsinpi,  for  machinery,  stenm 
boat  castingy,  and  tho  varioi^s  manufj-cturcs,  that  this  city  supphos. 
The  inexhaustible  supplies  of  rxcollent  pit  coal,  in  all  directions  in  the 
coal  hills  about  the  town,  furnish  nrrcat  facilities  for  keeping  in  operation 
the  great  number  of  steam  manufactories.  The  coal  costs  little  more, 
than  the  simple  expense  of  dioging;  and  tliere  is  no  fear,  that  the  supply 
will  either  foil,  or  Itecomo  diiTicnU  to  procure.  The  present  amount  of 
the  vahie  of  manufactures  is  supposed  to  be  not  far  from  2,500,000 
dollars  annually.  Tho  market  is  rich,  and  abundant;  but  much  higher, 
than  in  the  towns  lower  down  tlie  Ohio.  It  is  believed,  that  the  expense 
of  articles  in  the  Pittsburgh  market  will  compare  pretty  accurately  with 
those  of  Philadelpliia.  It  i.s  still  a  place  of  great  resort  for  emigrants 
descending  the  Ohio.  It  has  the  disadvantage  of  having  the  river  shal- 
lower in  low  water  than  at  W  heeling.  Flat  and  keel  boats  can  descend 
the  river  from  the  latter  pliice,  in  stages  of  water,  that  would  not  admit 
of  it  from  tho  former  place. 

Pittsburgli  is  more  entirely  a  riiaiiufacturing  place,  than  Cincinnati; 
and  more  so  than  any  oiher  place  in  the  West,  or  {)erhaps  in  America. 
It  deserves  the  name,  that  has  so  oflen  been  bestowed  on  it,  the  Birming- 
ham of  America.  Its  prosperity  pro])ably  depends  less  on  the  fluctuations 
of  the  markcis,  tlie  changes  of  tiie  times,  and  the  vicissitudes  of  peace 
and  war,  than  any  other  town  in  our  country.  Its  manufactiu'cs  are  of 
articles  of  prime  importance,  end  vital  necessity,  which  must  be  con 
sumed  in  all  changes  of  times;  a:id  which  this  city,  from  its  extensive 
operations,  from  its  long  practice  and  experience,  and  from  the  skill  and 
practised  talents  of  its  manufacturers,  can  furnisJi  on  as  good  terms,  as 
any  other  place. 

The  inhabitants  are  a  mixture  of  ail  nations.  Germans  and  Irish 
predominate.  Rut  there  are  great  numbers  of  English,  Scotch,  Frencli 
and  Swiss;  mechanics  and  arlizans,  who  come  here  to  bring  their 
mechanical  skill  and  industiy  to  a  better  m-vrkct  than  they  could  iind 
in  the  old  world.  TJie  habits  of  tho  people  of  the  place  are  those  of  per- 
severing industry,  calculating  carofulnesp,  distrust  of  strangers,  and  a 
fixed  purpose  to  look  to  their  individual  interests.  They  are  of  all  the 
different  denominations  of  religion,  and  as  moral  as  could  be  expected 
of  a  people,  so  situated.  Luxury,  splendor  and  display  arc  not  much  in 
fashion  here;  and  the  habits  of  all  the  people  are  frugal  and  economical. 


WEST    PENNSYLVANIA. 


42U 


This  city  has  immense  advantages  of  artificial  as  well  as  natural  water 
communications.  The  great  Pennsylvania  canal,  over  500  miles  in 
length,  terminates  here.  Another  canal  is  laid  out  to  connect  it  with 
Lake  Erie  through  Meadville;  and  still  a  third  is  proposed  to  the  mouth  of 
Mahoning,  where  it  will  connect  with  a  branch  of  the  Ohio  and  Erie 
canal  from  its  summit  head, 

Pittsburgh  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  county  of  Alleghany;  and  is 
situated  in  N.  latitude  40°  30',  W.  longitude  4°  40'  from  Philadelphia; 
300  miles  north-west  from  Philadelphia;  352  from  Washington;  335 
from  Lexington,  Kentucky ;  1,100  from  New  Orleans  by  land ;  and  2,000 
i)y  watiBr, 


;  «■ 


\.^' 


^1 


fik 


a, 


-  ♦• 


'^ 


WEST   VIRGINIA. 


«■ 


West  Virginia  probably  bears  a  smaller  proportion  to  the  surface  of 
the  whole  state,  than  the  portion  of  the  above  mentioned  state  west  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains,  does  to  Pennsylvania.  Tjie  Alleghany  ridge 
here,  as  in  Pennsylvania,  separates  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  from  those  of 
the  Potomac  and  the  Atlantic.  The  names  of  the  principal  ranges,  be- 
yond this  continued  chain,  are  Chesnut  Ridge,  and  the  Gauly  Mountains. 
The  face  of  the  country  is  similar  to  that  we  have  been  describing.  A 
considerable  portion  is  covered  with  lofty  and  precipitous  mountains, 
and  vallies  embosomed  within  them.  There  is,  however,  much  cultivable 
country.  Many  of  the  hills  have  table  summits,  and  are  capable  of 
cultivation.  On  the  whole  it  may  be  called  a  hilly  country,  with  a 
salubrious  atmosphere;  and  the  people  are  tall,  muscular,  laborious,  and 
frugal  in  their  habits;  having  a  much  greater  resemblance,  in  their 
general  manners  and  habils  to  the  people  of  New  England,  than  to  the 
Virginians  east  of  the  mountains.  In  the  dialect  of  the  country,  a  dia 
lect  of  universal  use  in  the  West,  the  people  west  of  the  mountains  are 
called  'Cohoes,'  and  those  east  of  the  mountains  'Tuckahoes.'  Some  of 
the  planters  have  considerable  gangs  of  slaves;  but  it  is  more  common 
that  the  labor  of  the  family  is  performed  by  the  members  of  it.  The 
people  are  more  in  the  habit  of  forming  themselves  into  religious  societies, 
knd  attending  public  worship,  than  the  people  of  the  state  east  of  the 
mountains.  The  staple  products  are  wheat  and  the  grains.  It  is  a  fine 
country  for  orchards,  and  there  is  considerable  attention  paid  to  the  culti- 
vation of  fruit.  I 


<* 


f^ 


-^^ 


WEST    VIFGINIA. 


431 


A  great  many  streams  rise  in  the  mountains,  and   fall  either  into  the 
Mcnongahela,  the  Kenhawa,  or  the  Ohio.     The  Kenhawa  is  the  only  river 
of  any  importance.      It  rises  in  tlic  Allegliany  mountains.    One  of  its 
principal   branches,  (he  Green  Briar,  almost  interlocks  with  the  head 
waters  of  the  James'  River,  and  witli  those  of  the  Ilolston  of  Tennessee. 
The  river  is  400  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  in  moderate  stages  of  tlie 
water,  is  boatable  by  large  boats  to  the  falls,  70  miles  above  its  mouth. 
Here  are  the  most  extensive  salines  in  the  western  country.    There  are  a 
great  number  of  furnaces  constantly  evaporating  the  water.    The  water 
is  found  for  a  considerable  distance  round  the  works.    To  obtain  it  they 
bore  from  1  to  200  feet  deep  in  the  earth.     It  is  so  strongly  saline,  that 
from  90  to  130  gallons  only  are  required  for  a  bushel  of  salt.     It  is  re- 
markable, that  in  boring  for  this  water,  when  the  auger  had  pierced  the 
different  strata  of  earth,  and  had  reached  the  salt  water,  it  spouted  Up  20 
feet  in  the  air.     The  quantity  made  at  present  at  these  works,  is  from 
200,000  to  300,000  bushels  annually.     It  is,  indeed,  a  kind  and  a  won- 
derful provision  of  Providence,  that  such  an  ample  and  easy  supply  of  an 
article  so  important  and  indispensible,  should  have  been  thus  bountifully 
supplied  by  nature,  at  such  remote  distances  from  the  sea. 

Chief  Towns.  Wellsburgh,  formerly  called  Charlestown,  is  the  county 
"eat  of  Brooke  county.  It  is  handsomely  situated  on  a  high  bank  of  the 
Mo.  It  contains  100  houses,  a  court  house,  jail,  post  office,  academy, 
a  number  of  inns,  several  stores,  and  two  or  thres  large  ware  housesj 
from  which  are  shipped  large  quantities  of  flour  for  the  market  at  New 
Orleans.  There  arc  a  number  of  valuable  merchant  mills  in  this  vicinity* 
that  ship  their  flour  from  this  place.  It  is  a  place  of  considerable  em- 
barkation on  the  Ohio.  Some  considerable  manufactures  of  glass  and 
earthen  or  stone  ware  are  carried  on  here.  It  is  situated  50  miles  south- 
west from  Pittsburgh. 

Wheeling,  the  county  town  for  Ohio  county,  is  situated  on  a  high  and 
gravelly,  but  alluvial  banic  of  the  Ohio,  a  liilie  above  the  mouth  of 
Wheeling  Creek.  The  town  is  surrounded  by  bold  and  precipitous 
hills,  which  are  generally  covered  with  a  fine  verdure,  and  contain  inex- 
haustible quantities  of  pit  coal.  These  hills  come  in  so  near  the  river,  as 
to  leave  rather  a  small  area  for  the  town.  The  great  national  road  from 
Baltimore  terminates  here ;  or  rather  is  continued  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Ohio.  Stages  and  public  roads  connect  it  with  Pittsburgh.  It  is  the 
first  town  on  the  Ohio  where  certain  embarkation,  in  small  flats  or  keels 
may  be  calculated  upon  in  low  stages  of  the  water.  It  has  a  fine  sur- 
rounding country.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  rich  land  back  of  it,  along 
Wheeling  Creek.  These  circumstances,  united  to  its  favorable  position 
on  the  Ohio,  impart  many  advantages  to  Wheeling.    Of  course,  few 


» 


433 


WlEiST    VIRGINIA. 


towns  on  the  Ohio  have  grown  more  rapidly.  A  number  of  mail  stagoi* 
arrive)  and  depart  here;  and  its  situation  in  regard  to  the  Ohio,  and  the 
natiijnal  road,  cause,  that  it  is  a  place  of  great  and  constant  resort  for 
travellers.  It  has  a  court  house,  jail,  banking  house,  a  Presbyterian  and 
Methodist  church,  a  market  house,  a  book  store,  a  printing  office,  a  Lan- 
castrian academy,  a  library,  and  a  number  of  inns,  some  of  them  highly 
respectable.  It  has  a  large  number  of  stores  and  commission  ware 
houses,  600  dwelling  houses,  and  5,111  inhabitants.  It  has  manufactories 
of  cotton,  glass,  earthen  ware,  and  a  number  of  considerable  establish- 
ments of  mechanical  fabrics  of  the  common  kinds^  Flat  and  keel  boats 
are  built  here;  and  recently  a  number  of  steam  boats  of  the  first  class. 
There  are  many  reasons  to  suppose,  that  this  place  will  eventually  become 
one  of  the  most  considerable  on  the  Ohio.  The  other  villages  in  West 
Virginia,  on  the  Ohio  and  its  waters  are  Belleville,  Point  Pleasant^ 
Greenville,  Abingdon,  JefTersonville,  Franklin,  and  Jouesvillo^ 


« 


^^■- 


'.■■''-'  ,-^VM' 


■'    » 


m 


-m^:^ 


MICHIGAN   TERRITORY. 


4 


Length,  250  miles.  Breadth,  135.  Square  miles,  33,950,  Acres, 
21,600,000.  Between  41°  31'  and  45°  40'  N.  latitude;  and  between  5° 
12'  and  10°  W.  longitude.  Bounded  on  the  north  by  the  straits  of  Mich- 
ilimackinac;  east  by  lakes  Huron,  St.  Clair,  and  Eric, and  their  waters*, 
south  by  Ohio  and  Indiana;  and  west  by  Lake  Michigan. 

CIVIL  DIVISIONS. 

Distance  from  DetroiU 

179  miles, 
133 


%.'  ■  ■* 


♦ 


.#. 


Counties.               C 

'Ounty  fowns.                i 

Barry, 

Berrien, 

Niles, 

Branch, 

Bronson's  Prairie, 

Brown, 

Menomonic,   ,          ,  i 

Calhoun, 

»if"- 

Cass, 

Edwardsburgh, 

Chippewa, 

bault  de  St.  Marie, 

Crawford, 

Prairie  du  Chein, 

Eaton, 

Hillsdale, 

Sylvands, 

Ingham, 

low  ay. 

Helena, 

Jackson, 

Jacksonopolis, 

Kalamazoo, 

Prairie  Ronde, 

Lapeer, 

Lenawee, 

Tecumseh, 

Macomb, 

Michilimackinack , 

Mackinack, 

Monroe, 

Monroe, 

Oakland, 

Pontiac, 

Saginom, 

_-j' 

Sanilac, 

Shianessee, 

St.  Clair, 

St.  Clair,               '* 

St.  Josephs, 

Wliite  Pigeon  Prairie, 

St.  Marie, 

Van  Buren, 

Washtenaw, 

Ann  Arbour, 

Wayne, 

Detroit, 

169 
356 


108 


77 


63 

321 
36 
26 


59 


^ 


The  census  of  1830  gives  the  population  of  this  Territory  as  follows: 
Whites,  30,848;  Slaves  270.    Total,  31,128. 

55 


4 


iW^ 

'-#» 
■%:■ 

v**^ 


434 


BliClliaAN    TEUUnoRY. 


^ 

A 


Michi.inn  IVn'ritory  if  ;i  larijn  pf<niiisijl:i,  soiuothin^T  ic.sriiil.linjT  ;i  (ri. 
anfrlo,  with  its  !):■:?(->  vvstirirMipon  Oliio  find  lndi;m;i.  'i'iirce  quarlcrs  of 
its  extent  !uo  puvioinilo;! !  y  \hv.  ^ivW  l.;I:f  :•;,  1  fiiron  and  rilichi;T;ui.  {f  [^ 
peneral'y  till  vol  coiMihy,  l!.i\i!i,i,nion.oinitnii5S,  and  rot  ninny  elevations 
that  mi,<^ht  proprny  lifM-ullecl  Jiiil".  Tlie  cenlro  of  tho  |)0iiin3id;i  is  taljln 
land,  elovatcil,  howovor,  not  many  loot  ahovo  tin  level  ol'  the  l!ikps,nnf! 
slnpinp;  in  every  dirct'lion  to  tlioni.  Bi'.t,  tlioii/jh  the  <:7onoral  ssiilaro  of 
this  territory  is  level,  there  is  Hir  k^ss  s\v:unpy  nnd  wet  Hiirlace,  liian  in  Iho 
northern  l;cltot"  Ohio,  adjoinin<f  the  hd;es,  'J'hc  eeuntry  is  divided  into 
nearly  equal  propovfjoriii  of  frrass  prairies,  like  these  of  Indiana  and  Ohio, 
divided  into  >vct  and  dry ;  and  extensive  and  deep  forests  of  trees  of  nearly 
the  same  classes  with  tho.-)0  in  Oliio;  e\ec[)t,  that  here  there  is  an  inter- 
mixture of  white  nnd  yellow  pine.  A  eonsiderahle  belt  of  land,  nlnnjj 
the  sonthern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  is  sandy  and  sterile;  and  so  swept 
by  the  hlejk  and  desolntinir  frale  of  the  lake,  as  not  to  promise  mnch  in  the 
way  of  cultivation.  But  a  great  proportion  of  the  lands  of  lliis  Torritoiy 
are  of  excellent  quality;  and  it  promises  one  day  to  be  a  i)i)])ulau3  coun- 
try. The  productions  arc  the  same  as  those  of  New  York.  Orchards 
flourish  remarkably,  and  this  will  undoubtedly  become  a  fine  fruit  country, 

Rivers.  This  is  a  country  watered  by  almost  innumerable  rivers  and 
branches.  From  the  levelncss  of  the  country,  they  are  fienerally  hoal- 
able  almost  to  their  sources.  These  rivers  abound  in  the  line  fish  of  the 
lakes;  and  the  fislierics  on  them  are  no  inconsiderable  source  of  supply 
to  tlie  new  settlers.     We  can  only  mention  a  few  of  the  most  importan!. 

Grand  River  is  the  largest  that  enters  Lake  Michigan.  If  rises  in 
the  south-east  angle  of  the  Territory,  and  interlocks  at  its  sources,  or  in 
its  passage,  w'ith  the  waiters  of  Raisin,  Bhick,  IMastigon,  and  Sagannm; 
and  enters  the  lake  20  miles  north  of  the  Raisin.  It  courses  throu'rh 
forests  and  prairies  abounding  with  game;  and  its  bosom,  at  the  proper 
seasons,  is  covered  with  wild  fowls.  Small  boats  reach  its  source,  and 
by  this  and  Huron  Rivers,  periogues  pass  from  lake  Michigan  to  lake  l-lric. 
It  has  been  proposed  to  connect  it  by  a  canal  with  the  Saganum  of  hke 
Huron. 

The  St.  Joseph  heads  in  Indiana,  and  interlocks  with  Black  River,  St, 
Joseph's  of  the  Miami,  Eel  River,  and  Tippicancc  of  tlie  Wabash.  It  has 
a  strong  current,  and  is  full  of  islands,  is  beatable  150  miles,  and  is  200 
yards  wide  at  its  entrance  into  the  lake.  There  are  most  abundant  fish- 
eries on  it.  The  Raisin  derives  its  name  from  the  great  number  of  grapes 
that  grow  on  its  banks.  Black  River,  Marame,  Barbue,  AVhite,  Rocky, 
Beauvais,  St.  Nicholas,  Marguerite,  Monistic,  Aux  Sables,  Lasictte, 
Grand  Traverse,  Thunder  River,  Sandy,  Saganum,  St.  Cair,  Bellp,and 
Huron  aro  considerable  streams  that  empty  into  the  lakes.    These  rivers, 


M 


^-..... 


wicnrcjAN  Tt^nniTonv. 


435 


like  those  of  llio  Gulf  of  Mexico,  before  tlicy  enter  tli'i  lakes,  expand 
into  consideniblc  basiiu',  c;iupf(].  no  doubt,  by  the  cDi'llict  between  iho 
current  of  liio  rivcrp,  n:id  the  HUif  of  the  lakes,  mooiin^r  in  a  level  and 
sandy  soil.  In  tlio  proper  se;ison,  ihoy  sii'o  covered  with  abuiiilniil  Iiarvcsts 
of  wild  rice;  with  innuinerabi"  llucks  of  wild  fowls',  that  conic  here  to 
leed  npon  it. 

A  <j[To:\\  many  Indians  ptill  reside  in  this  country  But,  the  tide  of 
white  iinmi;;ration  ins  rccontly  set  ulron;:^  this  way;  and  the  banks  of  the 
Huron  and  llio  Raisin  are  rnpidly  covered  with  the  cl(>ariii;.fs  (>f  the  settlers. 
The  strait  of  St.  Clair,  coniiectinf^'  that  lake  with  lake  Huron,  is  20  miles 
lon;Lr«  It  runs  tln-oiiuli  a  country  partly  jirairie  and  jiarlly  Ibrest.  Deep 
|rrovcs  of  beautiful  while  pine  arc  found  jdonj'  this  strait.  The  strait  of 
Detroit,  connecting,'  lake  Erie  and  St.  (.'1  ;ir  is  151  nii'cH.  It  is  navi^'Tablc 
for  kirgc  vessels,  is  studded  with  islands;  rnd  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
sheets  of  water  in  the  worhl.  Its  current  is  nearly  three  miles  an  hour.  ^||^ 
It  receives  the  rivers  Uoiiire,  Ecorce,  ]M;i<;'riu;;ni!i,  and  Brownslown. 
Five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  (he  ]louf];e  is  a  sliip  yard.  It  has  excellent 
lands  on  its  banks.  South  of  Huron  River,  the  river  Aux  C;;^nes,  Rocky 
Creek,  Aux  Sables,  and  some  other  small  streams  enter  the  lake. 

Raisin  derives  im|)ortance  from  the  circumstance  that  it  is  more  settled 
than  any  river  in  the  country,  except  Detroit.  It  has  also  obtained  a  mel- 
ancholy celebrity  from  the  events  of  the  late  war.  It  Ins  at  its  mouth 
extensive  prairies,  and  wide  tracts  covereil  with  wild  rice.  The  French 
settlements  on  this  river  are  conformable  to  their  customs  in  Canada, 
Missouri,  and  Louisiana;  that  is  to  say,  they  are  laid  out  in  long  and 
narrow  parallelograms,  two  or  three  arpens  wide  in  front,  and  from  40  to 
ICO  arpens  deep.  In  tins  v.ay  they  gratify  their  propensity  for  society, 
by  having  (he  fronts  of  their  plantations  resemble  a  continued  village. 
There  are  fine  orchards  on  this  river.  Its  banks  arc  covered  with  grape  , 
vines,  and  from  the  abundance  of  its  grapes  it  receives  its  name. 

Michilimackinack  island  is  situated  in  the  north-west  angle  of  lake 
Huron  in  the  straits  between  it  and  lake  Michigan.  It  is  considered 
among  the  most  impregnable  fortresses  on  the  northern  frontier.  The 
British  gained  possession  of  it,  during  the  late  war.  It  derives  its  name 
from  an  Indian  word,  implying  'the  back  of  a  tortoise,'  which,  in  its  form 
of  rising  from  the  lake,  it  resembles,  Tl;c  island  is  0  miles  in  circum- 
ference. The  village  stands  on  the  south  side  of  it,  and  on  rising  grounds 
back  of  it,  (he  fort  is  situated.  Tliis  is  one  of  the  most  remote  northern 
settlements  in  the  United  States.  The  fortifications  are  of  great  strength. 
The  population  of  the  island  and  its  vicinity  is  about  1,000.  Tiie  isl- 
ands in  lake  Michigan  are  as  follows:  JManitou  Island,  near  the  eastern 
coast,  is  six  r^nles  long  and  four  wide.     The  Castor  Islands  extend  from 


i  i 

if 


ipi'l' }. 


w  a 


i 


1'^ 


f' 


436 


MICHIGAN   TERRITORY. 


Grand  Traverse  Bay  nearly  ncross  tlio  lake.  Grossc  Isle  is  five  miles 
long,  and  from  one  to  two  wide.  Bois  Blanc  is  in  front  of  Maiden,  and 
has  been  possessed  by  tlio  Britisli;  and  is  one  of  the  points  of  territory 
in  question  between  our  government  and  tlicir3.  The  bays  on  the  east 
side  of  liikc  JMiclii<^an,  arc  .Sable  and  Cirniid  Trnvcrse.  Those  on  the 
Huron  coast  are  Thunder  and  Sii'^ana.  The  last  is  40  miles  in  extent  ia 
one  direction,  and  from  8  to  ll2  in  the  other.  I\Iaumce  Bay  resembles  a 
lake;  and  is  situated  at  the  moulh  of  JMaumeo  River.  It  is  18  miles  in 
circumference.  In  the  interior  of  this  territory  are  great  numbers  of 
small  lakes  and  ponds,  from  which  the  rivers  have  their  sources.  The 
strait,  which  connects  lake  Huron  and  lake  Michigan,  is  called  Lac  des 
Illinois,  is  15  miles  long,  of  an  elliptical  figure,  and  subject  to  a  tide, 
which  has  sensible  fluxes  and  refluxes.  The  Indians  that  reside  in  this 
territory  are  chiefly  the  following:  Ottawas,  Miamies,  Pottawattomie?, 
Chippeways,  and  Wyandots.  By  different  treaties  they  have  made  ces- 
sions of  the  greater  part  of  the  lands  in  this  territory  to  the  United  States. 
They  still  retain  considerable  tracts  of  fine  country;  and  have  many 
reservations  and  villages,  even  among  the  settlements.  Some  of  them 
have  made  no  inconsiderable  advances  in  cultivation,  and  the  arts  of 
civilized  life.  Most  of  the  converts  to  Christianity  in  this  region  profess 
to  be  Roman  Catholics.  The  Protestants  have  recently  established  mis- 
sionary stations  and  schools  among  them.  The  savages  of  this  region 
suffered  much  during  the  late  war;  and  their  numbers  are  clearly  dimin- 
ishing. 

The  climate  of  this  region,  in  consequence  of  its  being  level,  and  pen- 
insular, and  surrounded  on  all  sides  but  the  south  with  such  immense 
bodies  of  water,  is  more  temperate  and  mild  than  could  be  expected  from 
its  latitude.  The  southern  parts  have  mild  winters,  and  the  spring  opens 
as  early  as  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  in  the  same  latitude.  The 
position  of  the  northern  parts  must  subject  it  to  a  Canadian  temperature. 
The  winter  commences  here  early  in  November;  and  does  not  terminate 
except  with  the  end  of  March.  At  Detroit,  in  1818,  the  mean  heat 
of  January  was  24°,  and  in  1820  the  mean  heat  of  July  was  69°,  of 
December  27°.  At  Mackinack,  the  most  northern  settlement  in  the 
United  States,  the  mean  heat  of  October  was  45°;  of  November  32°; 
and  of  December  21°. 

Agriculture,  Manufactures,  Exports,  Sfc.  The  eastern  parts  of  this 
territory,  from  various  circumstances,  became  first  settled.  Within  the 
few  last  years  a  great  mass  of  immigvants  have  begun  to  spread  them- 
selves over  this  fine  and  fertile  country.  Situated,  as  it  is,  between  the 
west,  the  south,  and  the  east,  with  greater  facilities  for  extensive  inland 
water  communication,  than  any  other  country  on  the  globe,  with  a  fertile 


:^t^i^'  ■■.  •<va...v-^-«J^.'---''-./'-----a^^^.i^. , 


MicnujAN  rr.uRiTonY. 


437 


soil,  of  which  millions  nf  ;irrcs  nre  fit  for  the  plough,  with  a 
healthful  climate,  and  with  a  cdiicMnrncf  of  circimistanccp,  invitinjj 
noi'thcrn  population,  tlion>  can  ho  no  duuht,  that  it  wi!'  srwrn  lake  its  place 
as  a  state,  and  rival  its  western  i^ister  states.  Wheat,  Fndian  com,  cats, 
barley,  hitck  wheat,  potatoes,  turnips,  peas,  apples,  pears,  plums,  cherries 
and  peaches  are  rair^ed  easily  and  in  ahuudance.  It  is  a  country  more 
favorahlc  to  cultivated  /irarscs  than  the  western  cotmlry.  In  short,  it  is 
peculiarly  fitted  fn*  n'Mihcrn  firmrrs.  No  inland  country,  according  to 
its  !!;,'0,  populiition,  and  circunislauces,  has  a  greater  trade.  A  numher 
of  steam  hoalsand  lake  vessels  arc  constantly  plying  in  this  trade,  which 
iswith  IMackinack,  Detroit,  Cliic;i;io,  and  Ohio.  The  amount  of  foreign 
exports,  in  LS'21,  was  rtli^^m  dollars. 

Chief  Towns.  Detroit  is  the  political  metropolis,  and  the  only  town 
of  much  size  in  the  territory.  It  is  situated  on  the  western  hank  of  the 
river  Detroit,  IS  miles  ahove  Maiden  in  Canada,  and  0  miles  helow  the 
outlet  of  lake  St.  Clair.     The  hanks  arc  20  feet  ahove  the  highest  waters 

CD 

of  the  river.  The  plain  on  which  it  is  huilt  is  beautiful,  and  the  position 
altogether  delightful  and  romantic.  The  streets  are  wide  and  the  houses 
are  of  stone,  hrick,  frame  and  logs;  and  some  of  them  make  a  very  showy 
appearance.  Three  of  the  principal  streets  run  parallel  with  the  river, 
and  are  crossed  at  right  angles  by  six  principal  cross  streets.  Several 
wharves  project  into  the  river.  The  United  States'  wharf  is  140  feet 
long,  and  a  vessel  of  400  tons  burthen  can  load  at  its  head.  The  public 
buildings  are  a  council  house,  state  house,  United  States'  store,  Presby- 
terian church,  a  Roman  Catliolic  chai)cl,  and  some  other  public  buildings. 
There  are  a  number  of  stores,  and  others  building.  Rents  and  the  value 
of  lots  are  rising;  and  the  town  exhibits  marks  of  rapid  population  and 
improvement.  It  was  almost  entirely  consumed  by  fire,  in  1806;  and  the 
appearance  of  the  new  town  is  much  superior  to  the  old  one.  It  is  a 
place  of  great  and  constant  resort  of  the  Indians;  and  here  the  greatest 
numbers  and  the  fairest  sample  of  the  northern  tribes  are  seen.  Though 
the  lake  boatmen,  the  courciirs  du  hoh,  and  the  huntsman  of  the  northern 
wilderness  arc  not  exactly  the  Bedowin  Arabs,  and  the  frightful  scare-crows 
that  Volney  has  dcscribed,itmustbe  admitted  that  living  in  the  woods,  being 
exposed  to  the  heats  and  colds  of  the  climate,  and  rowing  on  the  rivers 
and  lakes  under  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  are  things  not  favorable  to 
complexion  and  appearance;  and  Detroit  can  show  many  inhabitants 
sufficiently  outr6  in  their  costume,  and  who  have  nothing  in  their  appear- 
ance to  recommend  them.  Respectable  schools  are  now  established  here. 
A  public  journal  issues  from  the  press.  Libraries  are  in  contemplation. 
It  must  continue  to  increase  with  the  influx  of  immigrants,  and  the  ex- 
tension of  back  settlements.    It  is  the  chief  depot  of  the  shipping  of  the 


•i" 
■  i-1 


W^ . 


\-<;-£i. 


438 


MICHIGAN    TEltniTORY. 


lakes.  A  slcatn  boat  plies  bctu'con  it  and  RulTilo.  The  operation  of  tlio 
Erie  Caiiiil  Ins  hwn  ruvonible  to  tlio  huyiucss  and  iniportuncc  oi'  this 
town, and  of  tliewliolc  coiinlry.  Tlio  finisljin;,'  of  the  Ohio  Canal  will 
still  farther  enhance  its  Imsinrss  and  jirospciity.  Detroit  is  evidently 
destined  to  hcci'nic  a  considoiablc  town.  'J 'iio  popnlatinn  exceeds  2,000. 
The  one  half  of  llirso  aro  French,  the  other  half  Americans;  with  a  con- 
siderable sprinklin^^'  of  foroi'inov-i  fioni  various  countries.  The  other 
villages  that  have  received  names,  aro  iMount  Clement,  Brownslown, 
Monroe,  Lawrcnccvill(',Frenchtown,  and  the  New  Settlement. 

Government.  This  is  upon  the  common  jdan  of  the  territorial  gov- 
ernments. But  it  is  eapy  1f>  sec  that  this  territory  will  soon  bo  in  a  con- 
dition to  claim  admiswloninto  the  confederacy  of  the  states.  Every  ti.ing 
is  yet  in  the  commenrernent.  The  usiuil  provisions  arc  made  for  roads; 
and  the  country  is  so  level  that  it  will  easily  be  susceptible  of  good  ones. 
At  present  transport  and  passage  arc  almost  entirely  by  water,  for  which 
this  country  furnishes  greater  facilities  than  any  other  of  the  same  extcat 
in  the  United  Slates.  Detroit  is  <'omparativoly  an  ancient  place.  The 
French  plantations  along  Detroit  River  exhibit  the  aspect  of  a  continued 
village.  They  are  laid  out  in  the  usual  manner,  2  or  3  arpens  in  front 
by  40  or  80  arpens  deep.  The  mansions  have  that  foreign  and  interesting 
aspect,  that  French  buildings  and  establishments  naturally  have  to  the 
American  eye.  They  are  embowered  in  ancient  and  beautiful  orchards. 
All  have  the  appearance  of  comfort;  and  some  of  them  of  splendor  and 
opulence.  There  arc  few  landscapes  more  interesting,  few  water  excur- 
sions more  delightful,  than  that  from  Detroit  to  the  lakes;  along  thig 
broad,  cool,  and  transparent  river,  studded  with  islands,  and  alive  with 
fishes;  in  view  of  this  continuous  line  of  French  houses  and  orchards, 
on  either  banii  of  the  river.  The  French  hero  have  their  customary 
national  manners.  They  live  in  ease  and  abundance  in  the  forests,  and 
take  very  little  thought  about  education  or  intellectual  improvement. 
But  every  thing  has  changed  in  this  region  since  it  has  become  subject  to 
the  free  institutions  of  the  United  States.  A  corporate  body,  styled  the 
'University  of  Michigan,'  has  been  formed.  They  have  power  to  institute 
Colleges,  Academies,  and  public  Schuols.  The  march  of  improvement 
in  this  and  in  all  respects  is  rapid. 

History.  Michigan  was  originally  comprised  in  the  North-Western 
Territory.  French  missionaries  Avero  settled  here  as  early  as  1G48. 
Detroit  was  founded  by  the  French,  in  1670.  In  1703,  this  country, 
along  with  other  possessions  conquered  from  the  French,  came  under  the 
government  of  Great  Britain.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  it 
became  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  But  the  British  gov- 
ernment held  possession  of  the  military  posts  in  it  until  170G.     In  1805 


Hi 


"ir 


MIflllCi.vN  TEIiniTOIlY. 


i'i\} 


the  country  \\:\h  formed  in  !i  distinct  (oiritoriul  govcriinicnf.  On  tlw 
breaking,'  out  of  llio  luto  war,  this  coinilry  hocamc  llic  tlioiitro  of  part  of 
its  oporalions.  ]Vl;ickiti:iclv  wnsciiptun-d  by  tlin  IJritisli;  and  Cliica(,'o 
surrendered  to  the  s.ivancw.  'J'lio  ilistislroiis  and  hinnili;itin'»  alliiir  of  tho 
surrender  of  Detroit,  hy  jjcncral  Hull,  orcunod  soon  al'tof;  and  iho 
British  held  possession  of  it  a  year.  Tiic  si^'n;d  viriory  over  the  British 
fleet  on  hdio  Erie,  and  tiie  siihsfquciit  doRal  of  tho  I'orces  niuk>r  genornl 
Proctor,  by  general  Harrison,  clian;,'e(l  thotido  of  snccosg;  and  iMicliifran 
again  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  United  States  It  is  now  one  of  tlio 
principal  points  of  inimijfrnition. 

Sketches  of  the  hdea  and  the  rii'er  Nhf^ara.  Althonn;!!  the  terri- 
tory of  Michigan,  and  the  lakes  may  not  bo  consi(k?rod  as  bclon^^'inrr  to 
the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  yet  wo  hue  criusidcrrd  thcin  as  the 
external  north-eastern  limits  of  that  prodigious  basin.  Tlioy  evidently 
mark  a  part  of  its  grand  features.  Tiic  lakes  every  were  exhibit  marks 
of  having  been  formerly  much  hiiflier,  tlriu  Ihcy  now  arc,  and  vast  allu- 
vial tracts,  beyond  their  present  limits  indicate,  that  their  waters  covered 
a  much  greater  extent  of  country,  than  at  present.  It  scarcely  admits  a 
doubt,  that  by  the  Illinois  and  other  tributaries  of  the  Mississip[)i  in  that 
direction,  the  lakes  discharged  IVom  the  western  extremity  of  lake 
Michigan  into  the  Mississippi.  Every  person,  that  hiis  traversed  tho  up- 
per courses  of  the  Illinois,  remarks  that  the  water  lino  on  the  blufls  indi- 
cates the  floods  of  the  river,  to  have  been  twenty  feet  above  its  highest 
present  elevation.  These  vast  bodies  of  fresh  water,  then,  formerly  dis- 
charged from  one  extremity  into  the  gulph  of  Mexico;  and  from  the  other, 
into  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Even  now,  as  wo  have  already  remark- 
ed, a  few  feet  of  excavation  would  empty  them  anew  into  the  Illinois. 
These  internal  seas  of  fresh  water  therefore  belong  to  tho  arrangement  of 
the  great  Mississippi  basin;  and  re(piirc  a  brief  description,  in  order  that 
we  may  mark  the  magnificent  northern  outline  of  the  country,  wo  have 
been  describing. 

Whatever  theories  may  bo  adopted  to  explain  the  phenomena  of  recent 
submersion,  that  are  seen  over  all  the  western  country,  little  doubt  can 
exist,  that  these  lakes  arc  the  pools,  that  remain,  as  mementos  of  the 
extent  of  the  agents  employed  in  that  work.  They  display  a  feature  in 
the  conformation  of  our  country,  that  has  no  other  parallel  on  the  globe. 
They  seem  to  be  generally  beyond  the  reach  of  prairies.  Boundless 
forests  encircle  them.  Their  vast  extent,  the  fierce  and  untamed  char- 
acter of  the  wandering  hordes,  that  have  hunted,  fought  and  fished 
around  ihem  for  unknown  age  s,  the  terror  of  the  winters,  that  rule 
these  regions  of  ice  and  storms,  for  so  great  a  part  of  the  year,  the 
precipitous  crags  of  secondary  formation,  that  line  their  southern  shores? 


m 


440 


lUCIilGAN    TERRITORY. 


f. 


Il<- 
■* 


and  the  bluck  inasscs  of  priinitivu  granite,  tluit  risu  to  iinpadHublu  lit>i;(iit>4 
on  the  north,  (ho  rcinoturu'i<d  of  tlioir  uxtent  beyond  fixed  liuinan  habita- 
tions, and  almost  beyond  (he  Htretch  oi'  the  iniii^MnutiDn,  huvu  connuct(;i| 
with  them  associated  idcfirf  of  U)Ilelill^^^H,  ^'randiMir  iind  desohition.  A 
line  drawn  throuj^h  the  centre  of  nil  llie.sc  lakcd,  boyinninj,'  with  Oiitnriu, 
and  cndiiiy  with  the  Lake  of  (Iir  Woc.da  would  ho  not  fur  short  of  ii  line 
that  would  measure  the  Atliuilic.  Their  wtitcrs  are  uniformly  deep, 
cold,  pure,  and  tr!UiHi)arcnt.  Tliiy  repose  upon  beds  of  jfranitc.  Tin-y 
have  {^reat  abundance  of  fine  Hsli.  'I'lie  country  north  of  lake  Superior 
and  the  lake  of  tlio  Woods  is  one  of  stui)i'ntIou3  cataracts,  impassuljle 
Bwamps  and  monisses,  rushint,'  rivers,  ofien  conliiiod  in  [jrccipitoun 
channels  of  black  granite,  (>xliiliiliiii,' an  aspect,  which  wouhl  chill  tlio 
heart  of  any  one,  except  a  sivii^ij  hunter,  lislierinaii,  or  covrcur  tin  hoii, 
in  the  description,  much  more  in  tiaversin'4  it.  We  have  a  faiihl'ul  and 
interesting  account  of  these  dreary  regions  in  the  narrative  of  ninjor 
Long's  second  expedition. 

This  chain  commences  on  the  north-cist  with  lake  Ontario.  It? 
extent  is  180  by  '10  miles.  At  its  eastern  extremity  it  is  a  group  of 
islands,  known  by  the  name  of  the  'thousand  islands.'  From  this  lake 
we  ascend  by  a  strait,  called  Niagara  river,  a  mile  in  avarago  width,  very 
swift  and  deep,  and  30  miles  long  to  lake  Erie.  This  is  a  broad  and 
beautiful  sheet  of  water,  equally  transparent  with  the  former,  but  falling 
short  of  it  in  general  depth.  Its  extent  is  230  by  45  miles.  In  various 
central  positions  on  this  lake,  the  voyager  is  out  of  sight  of  land,  as  on 
mid  ocean.  It  embosoms  a  number  of  considerable  islands.  Ascending 
still  farther  west,  we  find  another  strait,  as  the  French  word  Detroit 
imports.  It  connects  lake  Eric  with  lake  St.  Clair,  and  is  27  miles  in 
length.  Lake  St  Clair  is  another  clear  and  beautiful  basin  of  water,  30 
miles  in  diameter.  The  strait  between  this  lake  and  Huron  is  32  miles 
in  length,  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  breadth,  with  a  deep  and  rapid 
current.  Lake  Huron  is  the  second  on  the  continent  in  size,  being  220 
by  90  in  extent.  It  has  the  usual  cold,  transparent  and  deep  waters,  is 
studded  with  many  islands,  and  of  a  depth  to  be  every  where  navigated 
by  the  largest  vessels.  At  its  western  extremity,  by  the  straits  of  Miclii- 
limackinack,  it  communicates  with  the  singular  lake,  Michigan.  This 
lake  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  episode  in  the  great  chain,  not  appearing 
necessary  for  the  expansion  or  conveyance  of  the  waters  collected  above 
in  lake  Superior.  It  is  wholly  in  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  while 
half  of  the  rest  pertains  to  the  dominions  of  Great  Britain.  It?  extent  is 
300  by  50  miles.  It  receives  40  considerable  rivers,  has  valuable  fisher- 
ies of  sturgeon  and  white  fish,  and  embosoms  some  islands  towards  its 
northern  extremity. 


'^.%6 


mm 


MICirrUAN   TCIlUITOnY. 


411 


)iitario.     Its 

is  a  ^Toup  of 

om  this  lake 

0  width,  very 

a  broad  and 

r,  but  fullins 

In  various 
(fland,  as  on 

Ascending 
word  Detroit 
s  27  miles  in 
of  ivater,  30 
n  is  32  miles 
lep  and  rapid 
e,  being  220 
ep  waters,  is 
•e  navigated 
itsofMichi- 
igan.  This 
t  aj)pearing 
Iccted  above 
kates,  wliile 
ft?  extent  is 
lable  fjsJicr- 
towards  its 


Ketiirnin!.'  to  Inhe  Uiirnii  we  frul  it  coiinectrd  with  lake  Superior  by 
fiHfruit  *J7  miles  in  1  Mmili.  Tiie  eurrcni  el"  tliiji  river  id  Mliillnv,  rapid, 
mid  rcridi'ieil  dilliciill  of  tuivi/f  iiioii  ],y  liiitju  mnasou  of  ruck.  I/iko 
.•Jiipf'rinr  is  I  y  fir  lli-;  lii:'.^'«t  coll'-cfinti  of  fivnli  waleiH  on  llie  plobe, 
l;i"iti^' 350  l)y  100  mill's  in  oxfciit,  nid  r(;;'u;cil  nearly  J,"(]0  miles  in 
cirnnnfemiice.  Tiie  water  is  tr;m'fp;ir(.'Mt,  imd  doepi/r  and  coMlt,  than 
liny  of  tlie  re-<t.  Tlio  fliorcs,  eiipoci  dly  tliu  norlhorn,  tire  walh'd  wiiJi 
frowning,'  nnd  lofty  prccipi'cs  of  .'iranilu  ruck.  All  the  laki.-s  ubouiiil,  and 
this  rii  TO  (hail  ili;;  rest,  wiih  Hii-.'  tisli.  Tiicy  <'oiisist  of  dill'eient  kinds  of 
trout,  all  of  tlicin  (lo'ieioiH,  s!iir;TO()ii,  piko,  pickerel,  inu.skalim«,'e,  curp, 
bnsy,  ht-rriii'^rs,  wVc,  jiikI  the  lest  kind  of  all,  whiti;  (l!*li,  wliieli  is  f  mud 
ill  lliis  like  in  .rrrfafcr  p'Ml'.'i'ti  n,  tlsan  in  eillj.;)- of  (he  rest,  ll  c:nho- 
.soms  9  )nie  lartri;  i<l  mils,  'i'lr;  [i/in  ip  il  rivern,  l!i  it  disi'lnrua  themselves 
into  it,  are  .Michipieolc!!,  ,Si.  Louis,  i\ipef.r.iiiaiul  Pic.  Jkyuml  this  lake, 
and  stretching  still  firllier  to  the  n')illi-\V"si,  towards  the  frozen  regions 
of  Red  River  of  the  iiorlli,  iiiid  (he  Anitic  son,  is  the  lon<r  and  narrow 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  jiiipirciilly  the  ritima  T/iiiIc  of  our  eontiiKMit. 

Those  lakes,  from  tin;  circumstance,  lint  tlioir  waters  p(-sscHd  less  i-pecific 
jjravity  than  that  of  the  ocean,  and  tlui  coiiipirative  shallownoss  of  their 
beds,  an  1  if  may  l;e  from  other  causes,  when  swept  by  tli(Mviiids.  raise 
waves,  if  nni  so  e.\(e;:sive  I'lid  nunuit  linous,  more  rough  tuul  dangerous, 
llian  those  (f  the  SM.  ft  li;s  l),';'u  n  peatedly  :s:-erlf(l,  that  they  have 
scptonniil  lliixos  and  refluxes,  l-'roni  the  silence  of  ihe  recent,  and  intel- 
ligent travellers,  that  have  explore!  them,  toueliing  a  fiet  so  very  striking, 
we  should  le  led  to  don!, t  if.  It  has  l:een  aliirmed,  ids  i,  that  tiiey  liavo 
perccpliiile  diurnal  tides.  W'c  I'ou!  t  this  also;  fer  were  it  even  true,  that 
the  same  causes,  which  raise  tides  in  the  soa,  oper.itcd  perccpfil  ly  here, 
the  surface  that  c(jnld  be  oper  ile  1  u|)on,  is  so  small,  compared  with  Uiat 
of  the  ocean,  that  any  general  movement  of  the  water  would  be  so  arrest- 
ed by  capes,  points,  islands,  and  headlant's,  that  such  a  uiuform  result, 
as  a  diurnal  tide,  coidd  hardly  Le  calcukileJ  to  take  place  in  any  sensible 
degree. 

The  waters  of  the  lakes,  in  many  inslances  collected  from  the  samo 
marshes,  as  exist  at  the  sources  of  the  jNlississippi,  filtered  thiougU 
oozy  swamps,  nnd  numberless  fields  (,f  wild  rice,  v>here  the  shallow  and 
stagnant  mass,  among  this  rank  and  compact  vegetation,  becomes  slimy 
and  unpotable,  as  soon  as  they  iiiul  their  lev(d  in  the  deep  beds  of  the 
lakes,  lose  their  dark  nnd  icd  color,  and  (heir  swampy  taste,  and  become 
as  transparent  almost  as  air.  When  the  Irdces  sleep,  the  fishes  can  bo 
seen  sporting  at  u-nmcnos  depihs  below.  The  lower  r^lrata  of  the  water 
never  gain  the  temperature  of  siuTin.er.  A  bottle  sunk  an  hundred  feet 
in  lake  Superior,  and  filled  at  that  depth,  feels,  when  it  comes  up,  as  if 


5G 


» 


'Mm 


%l 


♦ 


442 


MICII1(;AN    TKIMIITORV. 


^% 


filled  with  ice  water.  ImajL'iiKition  can  nut  but  cxpiliate  in  traversing 
the  lofty  precipices,  the  pathless  niornsscs,  and  the  dark  and  inhospitable 
forests  of  these  remote  and  lonely  oceans  of  iVesh  water,  where  the  tempests 
have  raged,  and  the  surges  have  dashed  for  counth^ss  ages,  unwitnessed 
except  here  and  there  at  the  distance  of  on  Imndrod  leagues  by  a  few 
red  skinn,  or  more  recently,  Canadian  courcura  du  hols,  scrambling  over 
the  precipices  to  fish,  or  paddling  tlioir  periogues  in  agonies  of  terror 
to  find  shelter  in  the  little  bays  from  the  coming  storm. 

Hundreds  of  rivers,  though  none  of  great  length,  discharge  themsclvca 
into  these  inland  seas.  Situated  as  they  are  in  a  climate,  generally 
remarkable  for  the  dryness  of  its  atmosphere,  they  must  evaporate  incon- 
ceivable quantities  of  water.  It  has  been  connnonly  supjjosed,  that  the 
Niagara,  their  only  visible  drain,  does  not  discharge  a  tenth  part  of  the 
waters  and  melted  snows,  which  they  receive.  Tliey  spread  such  an 
iranionse  surface,  and  have  so  much  of  the  grand  levelling  power  of  the 
ocean,  that  neither  'they,  nor  their  outlet,  the  St.  Lawrence,  have  any 
thing  of  that  flood  and  subsidence,  that  form  such  a  distinguishing  feature 
in  the  Mississippi  and  its  waters.  Hence,  too,  the  Niagara  has  little  of 
marked  alluvial  character  in  connnon  with  the  Mississippi.  It  rolls  down 
its  prodigions  volume  of  waters,  alike  uninfluenced  by  droughts,  or  rains, 
by  the  heat  and  evaporation  of  summer,  or  the  accumulated  snows  and 
ices  of  winter. 

Will  the  shores  of  these  vast  and  remote  waters  be  ever  settled,  except 
by  a  few  wandering  trappers,  fishermen  and  savages?  Shoals  of  immi- 
grants from  the  old  world  are  continually  landing  at  Quebec  and  Montreal, 
Upper  Canada  is  becoming  populous.  Wave  is  propelled  beyond  wave, 
Much  of  the  country  on  the  shores  of  the  lakes  is  of  an  inhospitable  and 
sterile  charticter,  never  to  be  cultivated.  There  are,  also,  along  their 
shores  and  tributary  waters,  sheltered  vallies  and  large  extents  of  fertile 
Boil,  sufficient  for  numerous  and  populous  settlements.  It  is  an  iiiexpli 
cable  part  of  the  composition  of  human  nature,  that  men  love  to  congre. 
gate  and  form  the  most  populous  cities  and  settlements  in  northern  and 
inhospitable  climes,  rather  than  in  the  country  of  the  banana  and  the  pine 
apple.  The  astonishing  advance  of  population  and  improvement,  both 
on  the  American  and  British  side  of  the  country,  has  caused  that  the 
bosoms  of  the  remotest  lakes  have  been  whitened  with  the  sails  of  com- 
merce. The  smoke  of  the  passing  steam  boats  is  seen  rising  in  columns 
among  their  green  islands.  The  shores  have  echoed  with  the  exploding 
cannon  of  conflicting  fleets.  The  northern  forests  of  Ohio  have  already 
seen  the  red  cross  of  a  hostile  squadron  giving  place  to  the  stars  and 
ttrtpes.  Roads  are  constructing  to  reach  their  shores.  Canals  are  ex- 
cavating tg  connect  the  whole  extent  of  thifc'  vast  chain  with  the  Atlantic 


# 


iGLi^ik 


■A 


MICHIUiVN   TERniTOnV. 


448 


and  the  Gtilf  of  Mrxico.  Is?  it  (00  sanguine  to  predict,  tliat  within  the 
compass  of  a  ccnlniy  llicir  sliorcs  will  count  nn  Imndicd  populous  towns, 
where  senates  will  dchiiti!  mid  pools  siiiu?  That  every  nook  of  ihem  will 
be  visited  l)y  vessels  nnd  stonin  ho'ttg,  nnd  connected  liy  roads  and  mail 
routes,  nnd  that  tliu  fisheries  on  them  will  become  as  much  an  object  of 
luiticnal  importance,  as  are  now  those  of  Newfoundland? 

It  is  out  of  our  plnu  to  describe  the  rivers,  that  empty  into  these 
lakes.  But  we  shall  notice  the  St.  fiawrcnce,  the  next  largest  in  North 
America  to  the  Mississippi,  and  ihc  counterpoise  and  rival  of  that  mighty 
stream.  Commcncin<>;  his  course  for  nnother  ocean,  and  moving  off  in 
an  opposite  direction,  he  seems  ])roiKlly  determined  to  resemble  his  mighty 
rival  in  nothing,  but  in  bearing  oil'  the  triljute  of  waters  from  a  world. 
The  former  is  continually  swelling  or  subsiding;  and  in  his  spring  floods, 
moving  with  a  front  many  leagues  '\\\  width,  he  has  no  resemblance  to  his 
autumnal  course  in  a  deep  channel,  and  winding  by  beaches  and  sand- 
bars. His  alluvial  forests  are  wido  and  dark,  with  a  vegetation  of  surpas- 
sing grandeur.  Tfis  sides  arc  marly  and  (-rumbling,  and  his  bottom  is 
oozy  and  of  slime.  His  turlid  waters,  when  united  with  those  of  the  sea 
discolour  it  for  50  miles  from  its  mouth.  -U 

The  other  is  perpetually  the  same,  steady,  full,  clear,  and  his  current 
always  sweeping.  His  bed  is  worn  in  strata  of  stone.  His  banks  rise 
at  once  to  the  primitive  soil.  Blufis  of  rock  impend  his  course.  Forests 
in  llieir  "season  beautifully  verdant,  but  bearing  the  more  healthy,  stinted 
and  sterile  character  of  the  north,  the  larch,  the  pine  and  the  white  birch, 
bend  over  his  waters,  and  before  he  meets  the  sea,  vision  can  scarcely 
reach  the  opposite  shore. 

At  the  point,  where  this  river  issues  from  lake  Erie,  it  assumes  the 
name  of  Niagara.  It  is  something  more  than  three  q\iarters  of  a  mile  in 
width,  and  the  broad  and  powerful  current  embosoms  two  islands;  one 
of  them.  Grand  Isle,  the  seat  of  Mr.  Noah's  f-.mous  Jewish  colony,  con- 
taining eleven  thousand  acres,  and  the  other,  Navy  island,  opposite  to  the 
British  village  of  Chii)peway.  Below  this  island  the  river  again  becomes 
an  unbroken  sheet,  a  mile  in  width.  For  a  half  a  mile  below  it  seems  to 
be  waxing  in  wrath  and  power.  Were  this  rapid  in  any  other  place,  itself 
would  be  noted,  as  one  of  the  sublimest  features  of  river  scenery.  Along 
this  rapid,  the  broad  and  irresistible  mass  of  rolling  waters  is  not  entirely 
whitened,  for  it  is  too  deep  to  become  so.  But  it  has  something  of  that 
curling  and  ann-ry  aspect,  wliieli  the  sea  exhibits,  when  swept  by  the  first 
bursts  of  a  tempest.  The  momeulum  may  be  conceived,  when  we  are 
instructed,  thdt  in  half  a  mile  the  river  has  a  descent  of  50  feet.  A  col- 
umn of  water,  a  mile  broad,  25  feet  deep,  and  propelled  onward  by  the 
weight  of  the  surplus  waters  of  the  whole  prodigious  basin  of  the  lakes, 


% 


'%.: 


B  i 


:.  mm 


m  II 


4.  a 


m 


# 


M 


444 


MKJIIIOAN    TEHRITORY. 


rolling  down  ihis  rapid  doclivily,  al  lf?nr;fli  pours  over  the  cataract,  as  if 
falling  to  the  central  depths  orihocnrlli.  Instead  of  sublimity,  the  first 
feeling  excited  hy  this  SinfJon'^Mis  c:ilrract,  is  amnzcmorit.  The  mind 
accustomed  oniy  to  6rdin;;ry  pliennnu'na  <in:i  crnimnn  exhibitions  c/ 
power,  feels  a  revulsion  and  recoil  iVoni  l!ie  new  Irain  of  thought  and 
feeling,  forced  in  an  inslant  ujioii  it,  Tiiovc  is  h:uv.lly  sulV.cient  coolness 
for  distinct  impressions;  nnicii  jo.-s  f)r  c:dcn!'itions.  AVo  witness  the 
white  and  terrific  sheets — for  an  i:-:'a!id  on  the  very  verce  of  the  cataract, 
divides  the  fall — dosceniiinrr  mora  than  150  feet  into  the  abyss  below. 
We  feel  the  earth  tremhlin:^  under  our  feet.  The  deafening  roar  fills 
our  ears.  The  s{)ray,  painted  with  rainbows,  cnvelo|)es  us.  We  imagine 
the  fathomless  caverns,  which  snr'h  an  in)j)Otus,  continued  for  ages,  has 
worn.  Nature  arrays  herself  leforc  u?,  in  this  spectacle,  «s  an  angry 
and  irresistible  power,  that  h:',s  broken  away  from  the  beneficent  control 
of  Providence.  When  we  have  gazed  upon  the  spectacle  and  heard  the 
roar  until  the  rnind  hns  recovered  from  its  amazement,  we  believe 
the  first  obvious  thought  in  mrst  minds  is  a  shrinking  comparison 
of  the  littleness  and  helplessness  of  man,  and  the  insignificance  of  his 
pigmy  efforts,  when  measuring  strength  with  nature.  Take  it  all  in  all, 
it  is  one  of  the  most  sublime  and  astonishing  spectacles,  seen  on  our 
globe.  The  eye  distinctly  measures  the  amount  of  the  mass,  and  we 
can  hardly  avoid  thinking  with  llie  peasant,  that  the  waters  of  the  upper 
world  must  shortly  be  drained  down  the  cataract.  But  the  stream  con- 
tinues to  pour  down,  and  tJiis  concentered  and  impressive  symbol  of  the 
power  of  Omnipotence  proclaims  his  majesty  through  the  forests  from 
age  to  age. 

^  An  earthquake,  the  eruption  of  a  volcanic  mountain,  the  conflagration 
ofa  city,  are  all  spectacles,  in  Which  Ier:\or  is  the  first  and  predominant 
emotion.  The  most  impressive  exertion  of  human  power  is  only  seen  in 
the  murderous  and  sickening  horrors  of  a  conflict  between  two  mighty 
armies.  These,  too.  are  transient  and  contingent  exhiljifiosis  of  sublim- 
ity. But  after  we  have  stood  an  hrur  at  the  foot  uf  these  falls,  after  the 
eye  has  been  accustomed  to  look  at  them  without  blenching,  after  the  ear 
has  become  familiarized  with  the  deafening  and  incessant  roar,  when  the 
mind  begins  to  calculate  the  grandeur  of  the  scale  of  operations  tipon 
which  nature  acts,  then  it  is  that  the  entire  r.nd  unmiiigled  feeling  of  sub- 
limity rushes  upon  it,  and  this  is,  probably,  the  place  on  the  whole  globe, 
where  it  is  felt  in  its  most  unmixed  simplicity. 

It  may  be,  that  tlie  beautiful  and  romantic  country  between  Erie  and 
Ontario  receives  a  richer  colouring  frum  the  imagination,  excited  strongly 
to  action  by  dwelling  on  the  contiguity  of  the  great  lakes,  and  the  deep 
thunder  of  the  falls  heard  in  tlie  distance.     Remembrances  of  the  bloody 


■*     it.- 
1 


MICUie\X    TEItRITORV. 


445 


field  of  Bridgewater  will  be  naturally  awakened  by  this  view.  Be  the 
cause  what  it  may,  every  one  approaches  the  falls,  finding  the  scenery  and 
accompaniments  just  what  they  should  be.  Every  one  finds  this  to  be 
the  very  place  wlicre  the  waters  of  the  upper  world  should  pour  upon  the 
lower.  We  have  figured  to  ourselves  the  bloody  struggle  of  Bridgewater 
by  the  uncertain  intervals  of  moonlight,  and  the  feelings  with  which  the 
combatants  must  have  listened  to  tj  e  deafening  and  eternal  roar  of  the 
cataract,  which  became  audible  wiicncver  the  crash  of  the  cannon  was  for 
a  moment  suspended.  Must  it  not  have  sounded  as  the  voice  of  nature, 
mocking  in  her  own  sublime  irony,  the  feeble  and  the  mad  wrath  of  man, 
in  attempting  these  murderous  and  momentary  imitations  of  her  thunder 
and  her  power! 

The  Rideau  Canal  connects  Lake  Ontario  with  the  river  Ottawas  and 
Quebec.  The  number  of  vessels  employed  on  the  lakes  Erie,  Huron  and 
Michigan  is  53,  beside  steam  boats,  which  make  casual  trips  to  Green  Bay 
and  Fond  du  Lac.  The  Wetland  Canal  38  miles  io.ig  and  10  feet  deep, 
with  30  locks  overcoming  300  feet  connects  Lake  Erie  by  schooner  navi- 
gation with  Lake  Ontario. 


^^1l 


^¥^_,,v 


m 


Ttrs*> 


•■•    *. 


^ 


NORTH-WEST   TEKKITORY. 


%- 


Nearly  500  miles  in  length,  and  400  in  breadth.  Between  42°  30', 
and  49°  N.  latitnde,  and  10°  .*}  V,  and  18°  30',  W.  longitude.  Bounded 
east  by  Lake  Michigan;  north  by  Lake  Superior  and  the  British  posses- 
sions; west  by  the  Mississippi,  and  a  line  drawn  from  its  source  to  the 
northern  boundary,  which  separates  it  from  Missouri  Territory.  The  most 
accurate  account  of  this  country  is  to  be  found  in  Long's  second  expedi- 
tion. It  is  generally  a  hilly  country,  with  the  exception  of  extensive  level 
prairies.  At  the  western  extremity  of  Lake  Su])erior  are  the  Cabotiaii 
Mountains;  and  near  the  mineral  district  the  Smoky  Mountains.  In 
some  of  its  features,  this  country  resembles  Missouri  Territory;  but  has 
greater  proportions  covered  with  wood.  The  chief  rivers,  except  the 
Mississippi,  are  Ouisconsin  River,  Fox,  Chippeway,  St.  Croix,  Rum,  St. 
Francis,  and  Savanna  of  the  Mississippi;  Grand  Portage,  Ontonagon, 
Montreal,  Mauvaise,  Bois  brulc,  St.  Louis,  and  nearly  50  smaller  streams 
are  waters  of  Lake  Superior.  Ricierc  la  Pluic  falls  into  the  Lake  of 
the  Woods.  None  of  the  lake  rivers  have  a  course  of  more  than  150 
miles,  and  few  more  than  50  miles. 

The  largest  river  of  the  Mississippi  in  this  Territory,  is  Ouisconsin, 
which  rises  in  the  northern  interior  of  the  country,  and  interlocks  with 
the  Montreal  of  Lake  Superior.  It  has  a  course  of  between  3  and  400 
miles,  has  a  shallow  and  rapid  current,  which  is,  however,  generally  boat- 
able  in  good  stages  of  the  water,  and  is  800  yards  wide  at  its  mouth. 
There  is  a  portage  of  only  half  a  mile  between  this  and  Fox  River.  It 
is  over  a  level  prairie,  across  which,  from  river  to  river,  there  is  a  water 
communication  for  periogues  in  high  stages  of  the  water. 


NOUTII-AVEST    TKRIIITOUY. 


447 


Fox  River  has  a  course  of  200  miles.  It  runs  through  Winnebago 
Lake.  It  has  a  fine  country  on  its  banks,  with  a  salubrious  climate. 
Cliippeway  is  a  considerable  river  of  Ihc  Mississippi,  and  enters  it  just 
below  Lake  Pepin.  It  is  half  a  mile  wide  at  ils  mouth,  and  has  commu- 
nications, by  a  short  portage,  with  Lake  Superior.  A  canal  of  6  miles, 
over  a  perfectly  level  j)liiin,  could  connect  this  river  with  the  preceding, 
and  furnish  steam  boat  navigation  from  Buffalo  to  the  Mississippi. 

This  is  a  fine  region  for  hunters.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  country 
buffalos,  elk,  bears  and  deer  a  re  common.  Beavers,  otters,  and  musk  rats 
are  taken  for  their  furs.  The  trappers  and  savages  roam  over  immense 
prairies  in  pursuit  of  iheir  objects.  In  some  parts  of  it  the  soil  is  fertile. 
White  and  yellow  pine,  and  white  birch  are  common  among  the  forest 
trees.  All  the  water  courses,  ponds  and  marshes  are  covered  with  wild 
rice,  which  constitutes  a  considerable  part  of  the  nourishment  of  the  in- 
habitants. The  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi  arc  estimated  to  be  1,330 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

It  is  a  country  abundant  in  minerals.  In  it  are  found  great  quantities 
of  the  terre  vcrte,  or  green  earth,  lead,  copper  and  iron.  The  lead  mine 
district  is  in  the  lower  part  of  the  country,  between  Rock  River  and  the 
Ouisconsin.  On  Fever  River  are  the  chief  establishments  of  the  present 
miners,  and  the  mines  are  probably  as  rich  and  as  abundant  as  any  in  the 
world.  It  has  been  asserted,  for  half  a  century,  that  great  quantities  of 
native  copper  are  found  along  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Superior.  On 
the  Ontagon  are  great  quantities  of  pure  copper  in  detached  masses.  A 
single  mass  is  estimated  to  weigh  3,000  pounds.  More  recent  and  intel- 
ligent travellers  have  not  realized  the  expectations  that  have  been  raised  in 
respect  to  finding  this  metal.  But  lead  and  iron  are  found  in  various 
places;  and  sufficient  indications  of  the  existence  of  mines  of  copper. 

The  southern  parts  of  this  extensive  region  possesses  a  climate  com- 
paratively mild,  and  not  much  unlike  that  of  the  northern  belt  of  Missouri. 
At  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  the  summers  are  temperate;  and  the  winters 
extremely  cold.  The  sources  of  the  Mississippi  are  in  a  region  severely 
inclement.  At  St.  Peters,  in  1820,  the  mean  temperature  of  January 
was  zero,  a  degree  of  cold  not  felt  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  that 
is  much  settled.  The  summer  was  temperate,  and  the  atmosphere  beau- 
tifully serene.  Even  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  though  much  more  temperate, 
the  winters  are  very  severe.  The  following  table  is  selected  from  Mr. 
Schoolcraft. 


*  I 


448                                              IfORTU-VVEST   TERRITORY 

• 

Average 

Premiling 

Place. 

Date. 

tanpt 
Air 

raturc. 
Water. 

2oinds. 

Detroit, 

May  15  to  24 

01° 

C0° 

N.  E. 

River  St.  Clair, 

24       27 

51 

52 

N.  W. 

Lake  Huron, 

28  to  June  G 

51 

51 

N.  W. 

Mackinack, 

June    7  to  13 

55 

00 

S.  E. 

Mackinack  to  Lake  Superior, 

13       18 

6fi 

00 

S.  W. 

Lake  Superior, 

11)      27 

GO 

58 

N.  AV. 

Ontonnjron  River, 

28       30 

SO 

73 

N.  W. 

Water  of  Lake  Superior, 

06 

Ontonagon  River  to  Fond    ) 
du  Lac,                             \ 

July     1  to    5 

04 

01 

s.  w 

Between  Fond  du  Lac  and  t 
Sandy  Lake,*                   \ 

6  to  16 

07 

N.  W. 

At  Sandy  Lake, 

17      24 

73 

From  Sandy  Lake  to  St.     ) 
Peters,                              \ 

25  to  Aug.  1 

09 

s.  w. 

Chicago, 

January, 

15 

N.  W.  &  S.  W. 

February, 

32 

s.  w. 

March  to  15, 

29 

.  N.E. 

Note.— On  the  19th  July,  near  the  Falls  of  Packagnma,  the  elevation 
being  1,200  feet  above  tiie  level  of  the  sea,  "the  night  was  so  cold  that 
the  water  froze  upon  the  bottoms  of  the  canoes,  and  they  were  encrusted 
with  a  scale  of  ice  of  the  thickness  of  a  knife  blade.  The  thermnmeter 
stood  at  30°  at  sun-rise.  There  had  been  a  heavy  dew  during  the  night, 
which  was  •jccceded  by  a  dense  fog  in  the  morning,  and  the  forenoon  re- 
mained cloudy  and  chiily." 

Green  Bay  Settlement  is  situated  at  the  outlet  of  Fox  River,  and  con- 
tains 952  inhabitants.  A  few  miles  up  Fox  River  of  this  Bay  in  a  most 
romantic  position,  is  an  interesting  Episcopal  Missionary  establishment. 
There  are  two  or  three  other  incipient  establishments  of  hunters  and 
trappers.  Prairie  du  Chien  is  a  considerable  village.  There  are  flour 
mills  near  it.  It  is  a  place  of  importance  as  an  outfit  from  the  Lower 
Mississippi  to  the  upper  waters.  Iv  is  situated  near  a  beautiful  prairio. 
The  position  of  the  village  has  been  recently  inundated.  Most  of  the 
permanent  inhabitants  have  Indian  blood  in  their  veins.  At  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year  it  is  populous,  bustling  and  busy.  Curious  modes  of 
justice  and  of  despatching  business  have  been  adopted  here  by  prescrip- 
tion. The  inhabitants  in  this  village  and  settlement  amount  to  4f!2. 
Frequent  voyages  are  made  from  St.  Louis  to  this  place  in  keel  boats, 
The  richest  copper  mines,  and  large  masses  of  pure  copper  are  found 
here.  One-third  of  the  land  is  fit  for  farming,  and  one-sixth  well  tim- 
bered. 


*The  distance  from  Fond  du  Lac  to  Detroit  le  1,100  miles. 


NOnTU  WEST     TERniTORV. 


44U 


Ptrvai 

Un^ 

idnd 

9. 

N 

li 

N. 

^v. 

N. 

w. 

S. 

I'i. 

w. 

N. 

w. 

N. 

w. 

S. 

w 

N. 

w. 

s.  w. 

.  w.  &,  s.  w. 
s.  w, 

the  elevation 
s  so  cold  that 
ere  encrusted 
thermnmetcr 
rinrr  the  night, 
le  forenoon  re- 
iver, and  con- 
Bay  in  a  most 
establishment. 
'  hunters  and 
iiere  are  flour 
m  the  Lower 
atiful   prairie. 
Most  of  the 
\i  certain  sea- 
ion  s  modes  of 
re  by  prescrip- 
nount  to  4f!2, 
in  keel  boats. 
per  are- found 
ixth  well  tim- 


Tiiis  vast  region  has  liithorfo  been  politically  connected  with  Michigan 
Territory;  but  as  that  Territory  has  as  distinct  geographical  limits  as  any 
state  in  the  Union,  and  this  region  is  only  connected  with  that  by  circum- 
stances of  a  temporary  nature,  it  is  evident  that  this  country  ought  to  be 
viewed,  at  least  gc^ogniphicully,  as  a  Territory  by  itself. 

Prairie  du  Cliien,  Cassville,  and  Green  Bay  are  the  largest  villages,  and 
the  whole  population  is  rated  at  1(),000.  Three  thousand  immigrants  for 
this  country  passed  through  ButTalo  in  a  single  week. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Buffalo  Journal  gives  an  agreeable  picture  of 
that  portion  of  this  Territory,  which  has  been  lately  ceded  to  government 
by  the  Mcnomence  Indians,  and  in  which  he  had  just  maoi  an  excursion. 
The  tract  reserved  to  the  Indians,  of  i)00,000  acres,  is  also  a  fine  body  of 
land,  containing  very  extensive  and  fertile  meadows  along  the  Fox  River, 
with  woodlands  of  good  timber  in  which  there  is  no  imderbrush.     The 
writer  proceeded  39  miles  from  Green  Bay  up  the  Fox  River  to  Winne- 
bago Lake,  passing  rapids  whose  whole  descent  is  about  100  feet.     The 
river  is  90  yards  wide,  its  bed  a  lime  stone  rock,  the  banks  from  50  to  150 
feet  high.     The  water  power  is  of  course  adequate  to  move  any  machinery. 
Doty's  Island,  in  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  contains  400  acres  heavily  tim- 
bered.    The  bank  of  the  lake  itself  is  covered  with  trees  of  a  height  and 
diameter  indicating  the  nature  of  the  soil,  which  is  a  black  loam,  rich  and 
deep.    The  Cliff,  so  called,  is  a  mountain    300  feet   above  the  level  of 
the  lake,  presenting  a  picturesque  prospect.     The  main  roads  leading 
from  Green  Bay  to  Chicago,  Ouisconsin,  Portage,  the  Lead  Mines,  and 
Galena,  will  probably  pass  this  point.     Beyond  this  the  mountain  recedes 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  shore,  forming  a  valley  15  miles  in  length,  of 
as  fertile  land  as  can  be  found  in  the  United  States;  terminating  to  the 
south  in  a  dry  prairie  called   Cass  Plains.     These  plains  contain  25,000 
acres  of  rich  land,  which  are  already  cleared  by  nature  for  the  plough; 
and  they  extend  to  the  Manitoovoc  River.     Soon  after  begin  the  prairieg, 
which  run  with  scarcely  any  timber,  to  the  Mississippi.     Irt  the  whole 
distance,  near  100  miles,  passed  by  the  writer,  the  land  seems  to  be  of 
the  kind  and  aspect  just  described,  namely,  rich  prairie,  with  occasional 
growths  of  fine  timber,  equally  indicative  of  fertility.     A  road  from  the 
mouth  of  Fond  du  Lac  River  to  Galena  would  be  of  great  advantage  to 
the  mines,  and  a  direct  route  for  one  might  be  followed  at  a  trifling  ex- 
pense.    It  would  facilitate  (he  transportation  of  property  from  New  York 
by  the  cuual  and  the  lakes. 


ii 


'. 


-m 


'\-:   i'\ 


lee. 


*' 


57 


,v*»«(fc»*» 


'  ( 


fMf 
1' 


i'i* 


MISSOVRI   TERRITORY. 


Lenotu,  900  miles,'  breadth,  800.  Between  36°  30  N.  latitude,  and 
13°  40'  and  35°  10'  W.  longitude.  Bounded  by  the  British  possessions 
on  the  north;  east  by  the  North- West  Territory,  Illinois,  and  Missouri; 
south  and  south-west  by  the  territories  of  the  Mexican  Republic ;  west 
by  the  Rocky  Mountains.  No  writers  have  given  such  striking,  general 
views  of  this  country  as  the  gentlemen  of  Long's  first  expedition. 

The  belt  of  country  partially  wooded,  extends  generally  from  2  to  400 
miles  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  waters.  There  commences  that 
ocean  of  prairies,  that  constitutes  so  striking  and  impressive  a  feature  in 
the  vast  country  beyond  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri.  This  vast  country 
is  for  the  most  part  a  plain,  more  or  less  covered  with  grass,  in  great  ex- 
tents; in  other  extents  almost  a  moving  sand.  It  is  pastured,  and  trodden 
by  countless  numbers  of  buffaloes,  elk,  and  other  wild  animals  that  graze 
upon  it.  In  some  places,  as  on  the  Missouri,  spurs  of  the  mountains  are 
encountered  long  before  we  reach  the  main  ridge.  In  other  places,  as  at 
the  outlet  of  the  Arkansas  from  the  mountains,  these  mountains  spring 
up,  as  the  eternal  barriers  of  the  plains,  directly  from  their  base.  One 
mountain  is  distinguishable  from  all  the  rest.  We  have  wished  that  it 
might  be  denominated  Mount  Pike,  from  the  name  of  tiie  intrepid  and 
adventurous  traveller,  who  gave  us  the  first  account  of  it.  Its  black  sides 
and  hoary  summit  arc  a  kind  of  sea  mark  at  immense  distances  over  the 
plain.  It  elevates  its  gigantic  head,  and  frowns  upon  the  sea  of  verdure, 
and  the  boundless  range  of  buflaloes  below,  taking  its  repose,  solitary  and 
detached  from  the  hundred  mountains  apparently  younger  members  of  the 
family,  which  shrink  with  filial  awe  at  a  distance  from  it. 


Missoirni  TERRITOnV. 


451 


The  RfK'ky  Monntiiiis  coininoiico  in  tlto  unexplored  regions  to  ihe 
north-west  of  the  IJiiiU-d  Stiitrs;  and  ninying  acrops  the  sources  of  tlie 
Missouri,  the  Uoclie  Jaiiiio,  Plnttp,   Arkanstis,  and  Hod  River,  in  the 
Mexican  States  of  Tox:is  nnd  ('(lahiiiln,  llicy  diverge  and   unite  with 
the  ranges  of   Mexican  monntaiiig.     They  separate  the  waters  of  the 
great  tributaries    of   the  Missiasippi   from   those   that    full   into  the 
Columbia,  or  Multnomah,  the  (Ircat  Lake  of  Bueneventura,  and  other 
waters  of  the  Pacilic.    They  have  u  i'ar  gre;iter  extent  than  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  are  a  wider  range,  and  for  the  most  part  run,  like  them,  in 
parallel  ridges,  though  gonoraliy  more  ragged,  detached,  and  broken, 
and  are  by  no  means  so  regular.     They  are,  also,  of  a  character  decidedly 
more  primitive.     Tlioir  black,  precipitous,  and  frowning  appearance  has 
probably  given  them  the   name  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.     Their  bases 
have  an  elevation  of  between  'i  and  1,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
James',  or  Pike's  Mountain  has  been  given  aa  12,000  feet  in  height.    As 
this  vast  range  of  mountiins  is  as  yet  but  very  imperfectly  known,  there 
is  little  reason  to  doubt,  that  many  of  the  peaks,  when  more  fully  explored 
and  more  accurately  measured,  will  be  found  to  approach  much  nearer  in 
height  to  the  highest  ranges  in  Mexico,  than  has  been  commonly  supposed. 
Most  of  the  more  elevated  summits  are  above  the  point  of  perpetual  con- 
gelation.    It  one  respect  they  resemble  the  AUeghanies.     In  numerous 
places  the  waters  that  run  into  the  Pacific,  rise  near  those  that  fall  into 
the  tributaries  of  the  Mississippi.     Thus  has  nature  kindly  provided 
points  of  easy  transit  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  side  of  these  frown- 
ing and  apparently  impassable  barriers  of  nature.     By  communications 
of  unquestionable  veracity,  from  persons  engaged  in  the  Missouri  Fur 
Company,  we  learn  that  following  up  the  vallies  of  the  sources  of  the 
Platte  to  the  opposite  vallies  of  waters,  that  fall  into  the  Great  Lake  of 
Bueneventura,  on  the  other  side,  a  good  road  was  found,  and  easily  passa- 
ble by  loaded  wagons. 

The  waters  of  this  great  inland  sea  were  found  by  General  Ashley  to 
be  much  Salter  than  those  of  the  ocean.  He  descended  a  boatable  river  150 
miles  to  reach  it.  He  coasted  it  with  canoes,  and  found  it  to  be  100  miles 
long,  and  from  60  to  80  wide.  From  this  lake  he  returned  to  St.  Louis 
in  70  days.  He  found  game  so  abundant  that  he  could  have  subsisted 
1,000  men  on  their  whole  route.  The  caravan  crossed  the  mountains  by 
the  valley  of  the  North  Fork  of  the  river  Platte.  The  ascent  and  de- 
scent of  the  mountains  never  exceeded  three  degrees.  Many  of  this 
party  had  been  in  these  remote  mountain-solitudes  five  years  in  perfect 
healtli. 

This  line,  when  viewed  at  a  distance,  every  where  seems  continuous, 
iron  bound,  and  impassable.     The  mind  recoils  from  the  attempt  as  hope 


ii  II 


.*■'. 


u 


\  I 


453 


MISHOIiHl   TliRlirrORT. 


less,  to  find  a  way  over  such  rrowiiiiijj  ami  I'orinidablc  IniiicrH.  'I'licro  h 
no  doubt,  that  wifliin  half  ii  (•(uilmy  \\ui  waters  of  the  iMi.ssissippi  will  Ijo 
united  with  thoRu  of  the  western  sea  liy  iiavi^fal)liM:in;ils. 

Whnt  are  called  'The  Gates  of  tin!  Rotky  Moiiiilaiiis,'  llndiiMJi  wliicli 
the  Missouri  HceniH  to  have  torn  itself  a  |>assa;L,'o,  arc  coininonly  desciihrd 
as  among  the  suhliinest  spectacles  of  this  ran<,'e  of  inoiintaiiis.  \'\,r 
nearly  six  miles  these  mountains  rise  in  black  and  ))erpoiidicnhir  masses, 
1,800 feet  above  the  surface  of  the  river.  The  chasm  is  lillle  more  ilum 
150  yards  wide;  and  the  deep  an<l  foaniin",'  waters  of  iho  Missouri  riisli 
through  the  passage  as  if  it  vvcrt!  a  cat.iracl.  The  heart  of  the  beholder 
is  chilled, as  he  contemplates,  in  tiiosc  wild  and  uninhabited  re^nons,  this 
seeming  conflict  between  the  river  and  IIk;  mountains.  Tlu;  smooth  and 
black  walls  of  the  cleft  rise  more  than  twice  as  hio;h  as  the  mountains  on 
North  River,  below  West  Feint.  l']vcry  passeuL'cr  up  North  River  has 
been  impressed  with  the  fjrandeur  of  that  scene  in  the  midst  of  .'.luenity 
and  life.  What  then  must  be  the  sensations  of  the  passennfer  tliroiii,di 
the  gates  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  who  witnesses  the  proofs  of  this  con- 
flict of  nature,  in  a  region  300  leajjues  from  civilization  and  habitancy? 
Vast  columns  of  the  rock  torn  fronj  the  mountains,  and  lying  along  the 
river,  attest  the  fact  of  this  forced  passage  of  the  river  through  the  mouri 
tains.  The  Black  Hills,  the  elevated  table  lands  between  the  heads  of 
the  Missouri  and  the  Mississipjji,  called  Cotcan  du  Pniirir,  the  O/ark 
Mountains,  and  the  Masserne  Mountains,  may  all  be  considered  as  colla 
teral  ranges  of  the  Rocky  Moimtains. 

The  principal  tributaiiesof  the  Mississippi  in  this  Territory  are  llivur 
de  Corbeau,  St.  Peter's  Camion,  Upper  loway.  Lower  loway,  and  dr> 
Moines.  An  interesting  and  accurate  account  of  St.  Peter's  is  given  i.i 
Long's  second  expedition.  It  is  one  of  tiie  princii)al  upper  waters  of  the 
Mississippi,  and  has  a  course  of  !250  miles,  ft  enters  the  Mississippi  at 
the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  by  a  mouth  150  yards  wide,  and  a  depth  of  15 
feet  water. 

The  principal  tributaries  of  the  Missouri  arc  given  in  the  following 
table: 


^<E^'. 


0i. 


■s:r 


MiHSOl  Id   TUUHITOUY. 


453 


idercd  as  c.olla- 


W'ult/i  at  outlit 

Siippoital 

Side 

)n  which 

in  i/(trih. 

length. 

thaj 

(nkr. 

ir»o 

'JOO 

N. 

'JU7 

000 

«. 

im 

'Z'l^i 

S. 

ino 

yoG 

vv. 

IW 

rioo 

s.  w. 

{)() 

:m)0 

N. 

110 

\i7(» 

N. 

(U)() 

700 

w. 

.'i  10 

r)50 

vv. 

00 

200 

N. 

no 

ir.0 

!\. 

70 

IMO 

N. 

:i07 

.'ir)() 

S. 

ir.r 

IfjO 

s. 

Hirers. 
Milk  Kiv«  r, 
Vcllow  SloiiP, 
Little  Missouri, 
VVIiilo  Riven-, 
Running  Water, 
Jacques, 
Sioux, 
Platte, 
KiuisaB, 
Grand  River, 
Chaniton,  E. 
Charaton,  W. 
Osaf,'e, 
Gasconade, 

Red  River  of  the  north  rises  near  the  floiirccs  of  St.  Pelor'a,  and  by  a 
northern  and  windinjr  course  nins  nearly  200  uiiles  in  our  territorial  limits, 
and  then  passes  int«»thc  British  dominions  of  Upper  Canada,  and  eniptiog 
into  Lake  Winnepcrk.  Its  prnicipti I  branches  am  lied  Lake  River  and 
Mouse  River,  whicli  latterstroiun  rises  within  a  niilo  of  Fort  Mnndan  on 
the  Missouri.  I'cd  River  is  a  hroad,  deep,  and  very  interestin;Lf  r-'or, 
aboundini;  with  fish,  and  the  country  aloUL;'  its  hajdvs  witli  oik  and  bulliilog. 
It  is  on  the  baidiri  of  this  remote  2trcuin  that  Lord  Selkirk^s  very  intereat- 
inp  colony  is  settled. 

The  next  grand  tributary  to  the  Mississippi,  after  the  Missouri,  as  we 
have  already  remarked,  is  tiie  Arkansas.  The  head  waters  of  this  river 
wore  first  explored  by  Pike,  and  afterwards  more  thorour.'hly  by  Long. 
This  survey  reached  to  Bell's  Springs,  38°  32'  N.  latitude,  and  28°  45' 
W.  longitude.  Indians  and  hunters  describe  its  sources  to  be  nearly  200 
miles  north-west  from  that  point.  From  Bell's  Springs  it  runs  in  a  direc- 
tion generally  south-east  by  its  windings,  2,000  miles,  and  1,200  in  a 
straight  direction  to  the  Mississippi.  It  runs  through  a  country  where 
the  traveller  can  often  see  nothing  but  a  grass  plain  boundless  to  the 
vision.  The  Negracka  and  Grand  Saline  are  the  principal  upper  tribu- 
taries of  the  Arkansas.  The  lower  belt  of  this  region  is  of  .secondary 
formation.  The  middle  belt  extending  from  the  Council  Bluffs  to  the 
sources  of  the  Negracka,  contains  lime  stone  and  pit  coal.  The  upper 
belt  is  primitive  and  granitic.  The  lead  mines  below  Prairie  du  Chien 
have  already  been  described.  Blue  and  green  earths,  which  the  Indians 
use  as  paints,  and  the  beautiful  red  pipe  stone  of  the  St.  Peters  have  al- 
ready been  mentioned.     The  elevations  of  the  south-west  part  of  this 


,f   M'l 


4M 


MlSSOUni   TKUniTORV. 


I 


rogion  liave  hern  f,'ivon  ns  follows:  Kastcrti  limits  of  the  Territory  tm 
Osage  River,  7r>()  foot  in  lioiyht.  Neosho  River,  1, ()()().  ArlaiiiHiH,  :ii 
the  base  of  Jurnos^  Peak,  Vi,. ''/(UK     Summit  of  the  peiik,  ll,(Uli>  frijt. 

The  surface  mid  soil  of  this  vast  extent  of  (viuntry  isdilli'iciit  fn  in  any 
other  of  the  same  diiiusiisioiis  on  the  ;;lohe.  Tlie  lower  coiust's  of  all  ilu. 
rivers  that  enter  the  Mississippi  from  this  re;j;iou  arc  wooded.  In  [)ropor 
lion  OS  wc  ascend  towards  tlie  mountains,  tiie  wood  Ixcumcs  morescarco, 
nnd  the  upper  tributaries  of  these  htrenms  run  tlirou<.di  open  pruiritj.s, 
There  is  also  a  fertile  belt  along  the  banks  of  all  these  streams;  but  in 
proportion  as  we  diverge  from  them  the  land  becomes  more  sterile  and 
parched.  We  sometimes  may  travel  whole  days  without  seeing  water. 
Great  extents  of  this  country  may  be  likened  to  the  great  Sahara  of  tlm 
African  deserts.  There  is,  however,  in  the  most  sterile  i)art9,  a  thin 
sward  of  grass  and  herbage.  Counties  droves  of  bullalocs,  elk,  and  deer 
range  upon  these  vast  prairies.  These  will,  pro!);ibly,  in  some  future 
period  of  our  national  existence  be  replaced  by  herds  of  domestic  cattle, 
and  flocks  of  sheep,  followed  by  moving  bands  of  shepherds.  Almost 
the  whole  courses  of  the  Missouri,  Platte  and  Yellow  Stone  are  through 
a  rich  soil.  The  same  may  be  afilrmed  of  Red  River.  The  upper 
courses  of  the  Arkansas  are  through  the  most  sterile  region  of  this  ocean 
of  prairies. 

Climate.  In  a  country  of  such  immense  extent,  generally  level,  naked 
and  open,  the  climate  must  of  course  in  a  great  measure  correspond  to 
latitude.  The  first  climate  beyond  the  state  of  Missouri  and  the  Territory 
of  Arkansas  is  mild  and  temperate.  Tiie  belt  beyond  has  nearly  the 
climate  of  New  England.  Still  further  towards  the  mountains  it  is  Ca- 
nadian. Pike  and  other  travellers  speak  of  encountering  storms  of  sleet 
and  hail  in  the  summer,  near  the  sources  of  the  Arkansas.  When  tiie 
winds  blow  from  the  west  over  the  summits  of  these  mountains,  and  bring 
down  on  these  vast  plains  the  temperature  of  the  regions  of  perpetual 
frost,  we  may  of  course  expect  such  changes  of  temperature  near  their 
bases.  We  select  the  following  table,  as  compiled  by  Mellish,  from  the 
travels  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  as  conveying  a  synoptical  view  of  the  climate 
of  this  country. 


# 


M18HOUR1  TUERITURY* 


455 


if^'ht'sl. 

Lowcat. 

Mean. 

Vrcrailing 
winds. 

fiS'^ 

'12° 

03° 

S.  E.  &  S.  W. 

('/» 

32 

47 

N.  W  &  S.  E. 

(52 
38 

12 
—15 

31 
0 

N.W.&S.E. 
N.  W. 

40 

-40 

18 

2 

31 
11 

28 

N.  W. 

N.  W.  &-  S. 

N.  E.  At  S.  E. 

80 

24 

40 

N.W.S.&W. 

82 

28 

52 

S.  W. 

7fi 

35 

sn 

S.  W. 

90 

52 

65 

s.  w. 

01 

31 

57 

s.  w. 

I  SOI. 

Sipt.  10to30,  niy  TJon-l  to 

Hiciirrc,  l;il.  4«P, 
()rt.     Ricrirct:  to  Mniulun,  (I 

lat.  47'^  30',  ^ 

Nov.  Fort  Mamlan, 
Dor.  I'ort  Maiidan, 
lH()r». 

Jiin.     Fort  Mtindiin, 
Feb.    Fort  Miirulaii, 
Mnrch.     Fort  Maii(l;iii, 
April.    Fort  M  ind;in  to  24  ] 

miles  lioyond  Martini's 

River,  lat.  48°. 
Mav.    Martha's  River  to 

Stone  Wall  ('reek,  lat. 

47°  15', 
Juno.     Stone  Wall  Crook  j 

to  falls  of  Missouri,  lat.   > 

47°  15',  ) 

Julv.    Falls  to  Philosophy  ) 

ilivcr,  lat  45°,  \ 

A\\^.    riiilosnpliy  River  tn^ 

the  head  waters  ot' Colum- 
bia River,  lat.  44°, 

N.  B.  —  Signifies  below  Zero. 

OEXERAT,  nEMAKKS. 

September  23.     The  nir  remarkably  dry. 

October  5.       Slight  frost.     18.  Hard  frost.    27.  Went  into  winter  quar- 
ters at  Fort  Mandan. 
November  0.    Strong  frost.     13.  Much  drifting  ice.     30.  Indians  cross 

the  river  on  the  ice. 
December  5.     Excessive  N.  W.  wind.      7.  River  closed.      28.  Strong 

wind. 
January  3.     Snow  9  inches  deep.     8.  Snow  10  inches.      19.  Ice  3  feet 

thick  on  the  most  rapid  part  of  the  river. 
March  2.      River  partially  open.      26.  Ice  broke  up  and  descended  in 

immense  shoals.     30.  Ice  floating  in  great  quantities. 
April  1.  A  fine  shower  of  rain,  the  first  since  the  15th  of  September. — 

The  air  dry  and  remarkably  pure. 
April  4.     Hard  gales ;  scarcely  any  timber  to  shelter  the  country,  and  the 

winds  blow  with  astonishing  violence. 
April  7.     Left  Fort  Mandan. 
April  11.     Vegetation  ajipears.     18.  A  heavy  dew,  the  first  since  the 

15th  of  September.     21.  White  frost. 
May  2.     Violent  wind;  snow  and  v(;getation  intermixed. 
May  1.     Snow  disappeared-     9.  Choke  cherry  in  bloom. 
May  18.    Wild  rose  in  bloom.    23.  Strawberries  in  bloom. 
May  26.     The  air  warm,  fine  and  dry. 


\L' 


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IllJIllWll  -WP^mBW 


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^^^^^^^^^^^^T^ 


I'mmwJi^jif'^m^limmtwmjffit  " 


■^ 


:,*• 


450 


Missouni  TERniTOnY. 


•f*- 


June  27.     Thunder,  liglitning,  and  liail  so  large   llmt   one  stone  was  7 

inches  in  circumference,  and  wcij^hcd  3  ounc(;s. 
July  (*>.     Rain,  thunder,  and  hnil;  a  blackbird  killed  by  the  latter. 
July  7.     Near   the  sources  of  Missouri.     21.  A  sudden  cold  caused  a 

dillerence  of  513°  in  the  thermometer  in  8  hours. 

At  Council  Bluffs,  in  the  summer  of  1S20,  the  greatest  heat  was  105°, 
and  the  winter's  cold  22°  below  Zero.  Same  year  at  St.  Peters,  98°  heat, 
and  30°  below  Zero  cold. 

This  country  is  part  of  the  purchase  of  Louisiana,  and  has  been  ex- 
plored by  Lewis  and  Clark,  by  Pike,  and  the  gentlemen  of  Long's  expe- 
dition. We  have  gleaned  information,  also,  from  hunters  and  trappers, 
who  b-.ve  traversed  it  in  all  directions,  and  who  have  lived  long  in  it.  It 
is  inhabited  by  various  tribes  of  Indians,  of  whom  the  Sioux  are  the  most 
numerous.  .  The  whole  number  is  estimated  between  130,000  and 
140,000. 

Much  important  information,  touching  the  south-west  part  of  this  vasl 
region,  has  been  recently  alforded  by  IMr.  James  C.  Pattie,  who  passed  7 
years,  in  trapping,  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Arkansas,  Platte,  Yellow 
Stone,  and  other  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  on  the  Ilelay  of  Rio  del  Norte 
a  river  before  unexplored  by  wjiite  people,  and  which  he  ascended  from 
its  junction  with  the  Del  Norte  to  its  head  source.  He  crossed  the  Rocky 
Mountains  in  various  points,  and  a  number  of  times.  Most  of  the  peaks 
were  found  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  He  descended  the  Rio  Colo 
rado,  n*  Red  River  of  California,  from  its  source  to  its  junction  with  the 
Pacific.  It  is  a  large  river,  with  a  course,  by  its  curves,  of  more  than 
1,000  miles  J  and  in  many  of  its  chartictevistics,  particularly  in  the  extent 
of  its  alluvion,  it  resembles  the  Mississippi.  It  waters  a  beautiful  and 
interesting  country,  on  which  not  a  vestige  of  civilized  habitancy  exists. 
Its  whole  course  is  through  forests  and  prairies,  and  undescribed  tribes  of 
naked  savages-  He  visited  a  salt  hill  not  far  from  the  sources  of  the 
Platte,  and  loaded  mules  with  the  salt,  for  Santa  Fe.  He  discovered  in 
the  uninhabited  country,  ores  of  iron,  copper,  and  silver  in  great  abund- 
ance; a  great  variety  of  useful  fossils,  and  a  country  altogether  of  aniost 
interesting  character. 


i\iM\fi}m-  .■! 


I  stone  was  7 


cat  was  105°, 
ters,  98°  heat. 


1.     !...'''- 


OREGON    TERRITORY. 


This  Territory  has  been  so  named  in  the  Con"ressional  discussions 
that  have  taken  place  in  reference  to  the  country.  It  is  a  country  of  vast 
extent.  Its  southern  limits  are  clearly  defined  in  our  late  treaty  with 
Spain,  being  on  the  42d  parallel  to  the  Pacific.  Our  limits  to  the  north- 
west are  yet  in  question  with  those  of  Russia,  which  claims  to  the  51st 
parallel.  Our  limits  with  Great  Britain  are  the  49th  parallel.  It  has, 
therefore,  the  British  and  Russian  possessions  on  the  north ;  the  Pacific  on 
the  west;  the  Mexican  dominions  on  the  south,  and  the  Territories  of 
Arkansas  and  Missouri  on  the  east ;  and  may  be  assumed  as  stretching 
between  41°  and  49°  N.  latitude,  and  34°  and  4S°  W.  longitude.  The 
stupendous  ridges  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  we  have  already  de- 
scribed, bound  this  country  on  the  east.  The  waters  that  rise  in  the  west- 
ern declivities  of  these  mountains  How  into  the  Coluribia,  the  Multnomah 
and  the  lake  Bueneventura.  Mosi  of  the  elevated  summits  of  the  moun- 
tains are  above  the  limito  of  perpetual  congelation.  Beyond  the  mountains 
the  country  descends  by  regular  belts,  in  the  form  of  immense  terraces, 
or  descending  plains,  disposed  regularly,  tlie  unc  below  the  other.  Be- 
yond the  first  plain,  and  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  is 
another  extensive  and  high  chain  of  mountains,  in  which  arc  the  great 
falls  of  the  Columbia.  Still  west  of  Iheso,  and  ruiming  parallel  with 
the  coast,  and  at  the  distance  of  150  miles,  is  the  third  and  last  chain. 
The  peaks  of  all  these  chains  arc  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  The 
highest  peaks  have  been  named  Mount  Baker.  Mount  Regnicr,  Mount  St. 
Helens,  Mount  Iloorl,  and  Mount  Jcifcrsou. 

5S 


II 


It'    1 1' 


If  m 


n 


< 


'•*•»>. 


mm 


»#■ 


flPiPii 


mmmni^m 


458 


OULOON    TKKKITOUY. 


The  only  rivers  explored  in  this  region  are  the  Columbia  and  its  branches. 
Tliis  noble  river  lias  its  head  wnlers  near  lliose  of  the  Missouri.  It  collecis 
its  tribute  for  a  wide  extent  alon^  the  western  dividing  ridges  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Immediately  ii])on  emerging  from  these  mountains,  it  has 
become  a  broad  and  deep  stream.  Having  recei\'ed  Clark's  and  Lewis' 
Rivers,  each  laige  slrearns  from  the  east,  it  is  idready  9G0  yards  wide, 
It  there  fl^rmsa  great  southern  ';cnd,  and  l)reaks  through  the  second  chain 
of  mountains.  One  hundred  and  thirty  six  miles  below  are  the  great 
falls,  where  the  river  descends  in  one  rapid  57  feet.  Below  those  falls  ii 
winds  first  to  the  north-west,  and  then  to  the  south-west,  and  passes  througli 
the  third  chain  of  mountains;  where  it  is  again  compressed  to  the  widih 
of  150  yards.  Below  this  rapid,  at  180  miles  from  the  sea,  it  meets  the 
tide,  beyond  which  it  has  a  broad  estuary  to  the  sea.  Sixty  miles  below 
the  rapids,  Multnomah,  a  very  large  and  unexplored  tributary  falls  in 
fror^.  the  north-eust.  The  mouth  of  the  river  is  in  4()°  24',  and  the  tide 
tiiere  rises  eight  and  a  half  feet.  The  Columbia  and  its  tributaries 
abound  in  the  finest  salmon,  which  seem  in  fact  to  constitute  the  chief 
article  of  food  of  tlie  savages  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Seals  and 
other  aquatic  animals  are  taken  in  this  river  in  great  numbers;  and  tjie 
skins,  shipped  to  China,  constitute  the  chief  article  of  trade  from  this' 
great  river.  A  number  of  the  head  streams  of  the  Missouri  interlock 
with  the  waters  of  this  river,  as  Wisdom  River,  with  Clark's  of  the  Co- 
lumbia ;  and  JetFerson  of  the  Missouri  with  Lewis'  of  the  Columbia, 
Clark's  River  has  a  course,  between  2  and  300  miles  in  length,  before  it 
unites  with  the  Columbia.  Lewis'  River  is  a  large  and  long  tributary  of 
the  Columbia.  In  its  course,  it  receives  North  F*^ 'k  and  Kooskooskee, 
and  after  winding  600  miles,  falls  into  the  Columbia  from  the  east  by  n 
mouth  250  yards  wiue. 

The  geological  character  of  this  country  is  Utile  known;  but  the  west 
ern  declivities  of  these  mountains  are  presumed  to  be  primitive  and 
granitic.  The  country  must  have  an  abrupt  slope  to  the  Pacific,  descend 
ing  as  much  in  600  miles  to  the  west,  as  it  does  in  1,500  to  the  east. 
The  summits  of  these  mountains  of  course  aie  sterile,  being  ragged 
rocks,  and  covered  with  snow  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  But  among 
these  mountains  there  are  sheltered  and  tortile  vallies.  The  timber  in  the 
mountains  is  pine,  spruce,  fir,  and  the  other  terebinthines.  The  terrace 
plairs  below  generally  have  a  fine  soil,  but  are  very  deficient  in  timber. 
The  i^rairics,  like  those  on  the  eastern  sides  of  these  mountains,  are  cov- 
ered With  grass,  and  a  profusion  of  morft  beautiful  flowers.  Among  the 
prairie  plants  are  two  or  three  kinds  of  edible  roots,  which  furnish  vpjje- 
table  food  to  the  savages,  as  an  aid  to  the  great  proportion  of  salmon  which 
they  devout      Wjjd  5?'4gr  is  iIpo  ;v-  v<buiulnjii    Iicrb.     It  grows  of  a  size 


mf 


'^mimmmimi^m 


mmmmtm 


mmmrn^ 


ORUtiON      TEIMUTORV. 


159 


d  its  brandies, 
ri.  It  collects 
s  of  the  Rocky 
mtains,  it  has 
Cs  and  Lewis' 
0  yards  wide, 
e  second  chain 

V  arc  the  great 

V  these  falls  ii 
lasses  throiigli 
id  to  the  widiii 
:a,  it  rneels  the 
y  miles  below 
•utary  falls  in 
',  and  the  tide- 
its  tributaries 
itute  the  chief 
IS.  Seals  and 
nbers ;  and  the 
trade  from  this 
3ouri  interlock 
rk's  of  the  Co- 
the  Columbia, 

ingth,  before  ii 

tng  tributary  of 

Kooskooskee. 

1  the  cast  by  ;i 

;  but  the  west 
primitive  and 
acilic,  descend 
)0  to  the  east, 
,  being  ragged 
'.  But  among 
10  timber  in  the 
.  Tiie  terrace 
;ient  in  timber, 
itains,  are  cov- 
I.  Among  the 
li  furnish  voge- 
f  sahiron  whicli 
rowrf  of  a  size 


and  heiirhf  lo  be  liko  a  t^uKili  do?;  ;iiul  on  tlif^se  cxtousive  plains  is  one  of 
the  principal  articles  of  fiu^l.  Tl'o  ,soa  slinrc  f  ;r  a  corisidorablo  distance 
into  the  interior,  hi  skirted  willi  d(?rp  and  lliick  for.'s1s  of  evergreens,  such 
as  pine  and  hem'ock.  On  llic  vvIk  le,  it  is  believed  tliat  few  countrios  on 
the  earth  have  a  more  fertile  soil,  and  ngreoable,  climate,  than  those  of  this 
region  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  1];moii  L:ingsderf  has  given  us  a 
very  delightful  and  iipparenlly  just  and  distriminating  account  of  the 
countries  belonging  lo  the  Missions  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  in  the 
Mexican  country,  bounding  on  the  southern  limits  of  this  country.  The 
mildness  of  the  climate  ia  surprising.  Sheltered  on  the  north  by  protect- 
ing ridges  of  mountains,  and  the  breezes  from  the  west  being  softened  by 
coming  over  immense  extents  of  i<ea,  the  climate  is  as  mild  as  it  is  in 
the  country  cast  of  iheso  rnf-nnlniiis  foif  er  five  degrees  south  of  that 
point.  J.angsdorf  deFcribes  these  countries,  extending  to  our  southern 
limit,  as  the  country  of  oranges  :md  figs,  of  verdure,  health,  and  fertility. 
We  scarcely  remember  to  have  seen  more  sober  pictures  of  a  more  desira- 
ble country,  tlian  tIio.5e  drnwn  iy  him  of  that  region.  They  correspond 
with  the  accoanls  of  JiCwis  and  Clark  and  other  travellers,  who  have  ex 
plored  that  country.  When  these  intelligent  and  intrepid  travellers  left 
the  country  in  March,  and  in  the  latitude  of  Montreal,  the  prairies  were 
in  blossom,  and  the  forwurdiiess  of  the  season  seems  to  have  corresponded 
with  that  of  North  Carolina  at  the  same  <ime.  It  is  true  the  winters  are 
rainy,  and  some  parts  of  them  severe. 

The  following  table  v/ill  serve  to  convey  clear  ideas  of  the  temperature 
of  these  regions : 

TABLE   OF   TIIK   WI.NDS,    AND    KK-HAnKS    0.\    TIIE   WKATlIKll    HETWEEN 
TIIE    RCCKV    .MOT'XTAIXS    A\D    l'At:iFI(;    OCEA?^. 


Month. 


Place. 


Sept.  ISOC).    From  Dividing  Ridge  / 
to  Canoe  Camp,  \ 
Oct.    Canoe  Camp  to  Tide  Water, 
Nov.    Shores  of  the  Paciiic, 
Dec.  do. 

Jan.  do. 

Feb.  do. 

March  20         do. 
April.    To  outlet  of  Kooskooskee 

River. 
May.    To  Quasiiasl)  Flatts. 
.Tune.     To  Traveller's  Ropt. 
To  July  ".     To  Dividing  Ridt'e, 


N.I 

M.VV. 

N.E. 

E. 

3.  E. 

s. 

S.W. 

W. 

I4 

9 

0 

2 

9 

. 

2 

8 

4 

12 

4 

8 

1 

15 

2 

4 

0 

.5 

20 

1 

5 

2 

4 

0 

I 
3 

15 
20 

1 

1 

(•) 

1 

8 

4 

11 

1 

4 

4 

2 

2 

11 
11 

7 

;> 

1 

11 

1 

'21 

8 

1 

2 

1 

1 

6 

■%A 


!  '1  »  t (P 


'fki 


400 


OREGON    TERUITORT. 


< 


January. 


12. 


14. 


25. 

28. 
February. 
8. 


March. 


April, 


May. 


fune. 


i*-. 


24. 

1. 
13. 
15. 

25. 
26. 
30. 

6. 
12. 


3. 

10. 

22. 

27. 


2. 


3. 
5. 
6. 
22. 
July  to  8. 
5. 


HEM.4HKS. 

September.     Fair  19  dnys,  rain  7,  snow  4  days. 
October.     Fair  24  days,  rain  .'i,  cloudy  2. 
November.     Fair  7  days,  raiu  17,  cloudy  0, 
December.     Fair  .3  days,  rain  27,  cloudy  1. 
January.     Fair  7  days,  rain  10,  cloudy  3,  snow  2. 

The  loss  of  the  thermometer  sincerely  regretted.  The  parties 
confident  that  the  climate  is  much  warmer  tiinn  in  the  iiaino 
parallel  of  latitude  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Tliere  has  been 
only  one  slight  white  frost  since  the  7th  of  Nov  mber.  "'We 
have  seen  no  ice,  and  the  weather  is  so  warm  that  we  are 
obliged  to  cure  our  m6iit  with  smoke  and  fire  to  save  it.*' 
The  wind  from  any  qu;uter  olV  the  land,  or  along  the  north- 
west coast,  causes  the  air  tr.  become  cooler. 
Weather  perfectly  temperate. .  Never  experienced  so  warm 
a  winter  as  the  present. 

It  is  now  percv'ptibly  colder  than  it  has  been  this  winter. 
Pretty  keen  fro  ,t.     The  coldest  night  of  the  season. 
Fair  6,  rain  10,  cloudy  5,  snow  1  day. 
The  feeling  of  the  air  indicated  that  the  rigor  of  the  winter 
had  passed. 
Quii3  warm. 

Fair  8,  rain  16,  cloudy  7. 
So  warm  tha^  ^re  was  unnccessar} . 
Plants  began  to  appear  above  ground. 
Plants  put  forth  their  leaves. 
Gooseberry  bushes  in  leaf. 
Humming  birds  appear. 
Grass  16  inches  high  in  river  bottoms. 
Fair  20,  rain  7,  cloady  3  days. 
Cotton  wood  in  leaf. 

Vegetation  is  rapidly  progressing  in  the  bottcms,  though  the 
snow  reaches  within  a  mile  of  the  base  of  the  mountains  at 
the  Rapids  of  Columbia. 
Fair  19,  rain  5,  cloudy  6,  snow  1. 
An  increase  of  snow  in  the  mountains  last  evening 
Weather  cold  with  a  heavy  fall  of  snow. 
The  air  remarkably  dry  and  pure. 

The  snow  has  disappeared  on  the  high  plains,  and  seeirs  to 
be  diminishing  fast  on  the  spurs  and  lower  regions  of  tlie 
Rocky  Mountains. 
Fair  20,  cloudy  5,  rain  5. 

A  great  rise  in  the  river  in  consequence  of  the  melting  of  the 
snow  in  the  mountains. 
River  at  its  greatest  height. 
TJio  wild  rose  in  bloom. 
The  vining  honey-suckle  in  bloom. 
Strawberries  ripe  at  Quashnash  Flatts. 
Fair  6,  rain  2  days. 

A  dew  this  morning;  ihc  nights  cool;  (he  musquitocs  tioublo 
some. 


erienced  so  warm 


ains,  and  seeirs  to 


(he  melting  of  the 


(lUsquilocH  tioublo 


OREGON   TEURITORY. 


401 


f).    In  tlic  open  plniii  tlioro  was  a  violent  wind  from  the  north- 
west, accompanied  by  hard  rain. 
^  8.    A  heavy  shower,  accompanied  by  hard  rain  from  the  south- 

west. 

This  country  was  first  discovered  by  the  Spaniards.  In  1701,  Captain 
Gray,  of  the  ship  Columbia,  of  Boston,  entered  the  river,  and  from  his 
ship  it  received  its  name.  It  was  occasionally  entered  by  navigators  after- 
wards. In  180.5,  Lewis  and  Clark  descended  this  river  from  the  moun- 
tains to  the  Pacific,  and  spent  the  winter  on  its  shore.  They  returned 
Ly  the  same  river  to  the  mountains;  and  most  of  the  exact  information 
tliat  we  have  of  the  country  is  from  them.  For  some  years  a  settlement 
of  fur  traders,  called  Astoria,  has  existed  here.  The  chief  intercourse 
of  this  place  is  with  China.  The  question  of  settling  this  delightful 
country  permanently,  has  been  more  than  once  debated  in  Congress. 
Were  such  settlements  authorized  and  rendered  secure  by  the  requisite 
military  establishments,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  it  would  receive  largo 
accessions  of  immigrants.  The  number  of  Indians  of  the  diflerent  tribes 
is  estimated  at  140,000. 

A  company  is  understood  to  be  now  forming,  of  emigrants  principally 
ftom  New  England,  who  intend  to  assemble  at  St.  Louis,  ascend  the 
Missouri,  and  cross  the  mountains  to  the  plains  of  the  Oregon.  Settle- 
ments to  a  consideral)le  extent  already  exist  on  this  river.  Many  of  the 
settlers  are  understood  to  be  British  witliin  the  territorial  limits  of  the 
Lfnired  S'ates.  They  have  great  stocks  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses.  On 
aslreamthat  enters  the  Oregon  not  far  from  the  Great  Falls,  they  have 
mills,  and  admirable  water  privileges  for  an  indefinite  number.  It  is  con- 
fidently believed,  that  no  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  in 
point  of  soil,  climate,  and  commercial  advantages,  holds  out  stronger  in 
diicementsto  emigrants  than  this  country. 

As  the  Mexican  States  of  Texas,  Coahuila  and  Sonora,  bound  the 
country,  admitted  by  the  treaty  of  the  cession  of  Florida,  to  belong  to  the 
United  States  in  its  whole  extent,  from  the  upper  waters  of  Arkansas  and 
Red  River  to  the  Gulf  of  California,  it  is  presumed  that  a  sketch  of  those 
States  will  not  be  unacceptable  in  this  place 

It  is  well  known  that  Texas  has  already  received  a  very  considerable 
proportion  of  its  present  population  in  emigrants  from  the  United  States. 
The  body  of  trappers  and  traders  from  Missouri  across  the  prairies  to 
Santa  Fe  in  New  Mexico,  is  numerous  and  increasing.  The  trade  has 
received  a  regular  form,  and  has  aiready  had  a  very  sensible  effect  upon 
the  growth  of  the  town  of  Santa  Fe,  and  the  adjoining  country.  Many 
of  these  traders  have  formed  connecl.ons,  and  intermarriages,  and  have 
found   homes  there.     Santa  Fe  may  be  considered,  in  some  sense,  an 


w 


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If  I 


u-i\^ 


i'  t'  ;■< »  ,  '*  •  !     I 

i    ^    'I 


'    1  *.  '   "£ 


402 


ORKtJON    TERRITOUV. 


I 

I 


*i 


•I! 'I 


American  town,  the  sloros  being  tilled  with  Aincrican  go(;(![>,  an  1  tliu 
streets  witli  American  poopln.     The  Americans  have  explored  the  wliolc 
country  from  llie  sources  of  the  Rio  del  iXorte  to  its  mouth,  in  Hcaicli  ol" 
furs,  and  in  pursv.it  of  u  hicnitive  tninic.     'J'horc  are  fnv  of  ihe  towns 
of  New  Mexico,  in  which  nine  or  less  of   thcin  are  not  lo  be  found. 
Constantly  oppressed  by  the  ignorant,  miserable,  biivotted,  petty  dcsp-jis 
of  tliese  semi-barbarous  regions,  who  assume  to  be  republican  rulers  of 
an  amicable  sister  republic,  the  United  States  cmigranl^-j  li!:e  t!ic  Jews, 
multiply  and  thrive  under  the  extortions  and  cruellies  practised  upon  lli,:ni. 
Never  was  a  more  vivid  and  artless  picture  of  these  oppressions  present- 
ed, than  in  the  recently  published  journal  of  James  O.  Pattie  of  seven 
years  wanderings  and  imprisonments  among  these  i.cople.     Having  per- 
sonally explored  all  portions  of  the  country  toliio  del  Norte,  and  tlienro 
to  the  Pacific,  we  consider  his  narrative  the  most  exact,  as  well  as  inter- 
esting account  of  that   country,  that  has  yet  been    published.      He  has 
reversed  many  previous  impressions  in  regard  to  its  sterility  anddesiitu- 
tion  of  rains.     Copious  rains  are  noted  in  his  journal,  as  evenls  of  fre- 
quent occurrence.     In  Texas  and  in  Sonora  he  speaks  with  enthusiasm 
of  the  verdure  and   fertility  of  the  country,  in  his  diurnal  movements. 
He  is  seldom  out  of  sight  of  mountain-peaks,  white  with  perpetual  snow. 
His  sketches  of  the  Mexican  people,  of  their  superstitious  devotion  to 
the  ceremonials  of  their  church,  of  their  amusements,  and  bull  baitinw 
are  fresh  and  graphic,  presenting  these  singular  semi-barbarians  in  a  new 
light.     He  describes  the  tribes  of  the  L'meds,  p'iotaro,  and  Nabahocs, 
with  a  considerable  degree  of  detail,  as  he  traversed  their  wliole  extent  of 
country,  and  met  tliem,  both  in  batile  and  in  friendship.     He  describes 
them  as  of  uncommon  stature,  and  the  finest  forms;  and  most  of  them, 
both  males  and  females,  entirely  naked.     Their  arras  were  bows  and 
arrows,  the  arrows  of  reed,  headed   with   flint,  and  the  bows   rendered 
elastic  by  adding  buffalo  bones  to  the  tough  wood.     These  are  the  savages 
that  occupy  the  country  along  ihc  course  of  Rod  River  of  California. 

In  travelling  from  the  estuary  of  that  uninhabited  river  to  the  Catholic 
missions  of  California,  he  passed  over  an  immense  sand  plain  totally 
destitute  of  all  herbage  but  the  prickly  pear.  Here  he  and  his  party  were 
near  perishing  of  thirst.  At  length  they  reached  a  lake;  but  its  waters 
were  Salter  than  those  of  the  sea.  White  bears,  white  wolves,  antelopes, 
and  mountain  sheep  were  the  animals  they  most  fretpiently  met.  "White 
bears,  in  numbers  and  of  a  ferocity  never  before  adequately  described, 
render  trapping  and  hunting  in  these  regions  a  perilous  employmenl, 
even  were  there  no  savages  to  encounter. 

His  description  of  the  country  along  the  Gulf  of  California,  occupied 
by  the  Catholic  Missions,  is  of  great  interest  and  iVeshness.     It  corrcs- 


OUECJON     TEliniTOUV. 


4G3 


pondK,  in  morif  particulars,  with  the   account  of    tiic  country  given  hj 
l/;ngs(!ori"  in  his  voyages  and  travels.     Mr.  Pat  tiu  visited  each  one  of  the 
!\liH.si(jn;n y  stations,  liaving  been  liberated  from  a  long  and  painful  iin- 
prisonnionl  in  San  Diego,  on  the  express  condition  that  he  should  vacciu 
ii!c  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  missions.  *^ 

Jlctioscribes  the  country  as  one  of  the  most  channing  and  delightful 
of  wliich  the  imagination  can  form  an  idea.  Tlie  missions  are  situated 
along  a  wide  bc^lt  of  plain  of  the  richest  soil,  literally  covered  with  sheep, 
c;ittlo,  liorses,  and  domestic  animals.  The  missions  are  surrrnuided  with 
lieautiful  vineyards,  yicitling  pleasant  and  generous  wine,  and  all  the 
fruits  of  the  temperate,  ajid  most  of  those  of  the  tropical  climates. 

Tie  tmvellcd  along  this  extensive  plain  from  mission  to  mission,  directly 
on  the  verg'i  of  the  sea  shore,  viewing,  on  one  hand,  the  expanse  of  the 
Pacilic,  and  the  whales,  sea  lions,  and  other  monstrous  water  dwellers 
performing  tiieir  unwieldy  gambols;  and  on  the  other  hand,  mountains 
while  with  snow,  from  which  innumerable  cool  streams  descended  to 
iriigatc  tlie  fields.  The  names  of  the  missions  are  San  Diego,  San  Luis, 
the  largest  and  handsomest  of  the  whole,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  St.  Gabriel, 
St.  Ferdinand,  St.  Bueneventura,  St.  Barbara,  Santa  Cruz,  St.  Enos,  St. 
Luis  Obispes,  St.  Michael,  St.  John  Capistrano,  La  Solada,  San  Carlos, 
St.  Anthony,  and  San  Francisco.  In  these  places  he  vaccinated  22,000 
persons,  the  greater  portion  of  them  converted  Indians,  the  condition  of 
whom  he  represents  to  be  very  similar  to  that  of  our  slaves.  They  are 
carefully  watclicd,  to  prevent  their  escape  to  their  native  forests.  When 
the  husbands  and  fathers  of  the  females  are  absent,  the  holy  fathers  lock 
them  up  at.  night,  and  preserve  the  key.  These  missions  number  their 
cattle,  sheep,  horses  and  mules  by  tens  of  thousands.  Though  in  a  trop- 
ical climate,  the  temperature  was  uniformly  cool  and  delightful. 

The  fathers  have  procured  for  themselves,  by  the  aid  of  these  thousands 
of  converted  Indians,  the  most  delightful  abodes  in  the  world.  Their 
apartments  were  sumptuously  furnished.  Their  tables  were  spread  with 
plate,  and  an  ample  supply  of  the  most  delicious  wines;  and  they  have 
had  the  good  i'urlune  1o  have  secured  for  themselves  a  paradise  in  these 
solitary  regions,  as  a  prelibation  of  the  rewards  reserved  for  them  here- 
after, for  their  labors  in  converting  the  heathens.  This  country  is  contig- 
uous, and  these  people  will  be  the  nearest  whites  to  our  settlements  in  the 
Oregon  Territory. 

Mr.  Austin,  formerly  aciti/cn  of  the  Umted  States,  has  settled,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Mexican  government,  a  considerable  colony,  composed 
almost  entirely  of  emigrants  from  the  United  States,  on  the  Brasses  and 
Colorado,  rivers  of  Texas.  The  town  of  San  Felipe  de  Austin  has  a 
compact  select  of   some  length,  publishes  a  gazette,  has  a  number  of 


n 


mmi^4^^ 


vW'&Wm 


.&,. 


464 


OttCliON    TERRITOKV. 


i 


I    *■ 


attornics  and  piiysicians,  and  a  respectable  scliool.     Small  vessels  contu 
up  to  this  town,  which  is  40  or  50  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Tho  eastern  border  of  Texas  about  the  lyish  Bayou  is  chiefly  settled 
with  Americans.  St.  A.ntonio  and  Nachodochcs  are'  the  only  considera- 
ble villages  of  the  interior.  Nachodochcs  is  60  miles  west  of  the  Sabine, 
and  contains  about  400  inhabitants.  St.  Antonio  is  1,300  miles  further 
south-west,  on  the  head  waters  of  tlie  river  St.  Antonio,  in  29°  50'  N. 
latitude,  and  contains  between  2  and  3,000  inhabitants.  Trinity  is  a 
considerable  stream  of  Texas,  running  parallel  with  the  Sabine,  and  150 
miles  west  of  it.  Tlie  next  important  river  is  the  Brasses,  which  has  a 
course  of  between  4  and  500  miles.  The  Colorado  is  a  river  stiU'further 
west,  of  about  tho  same  length  and  course.  Two  hundred  miles' further 
west  is  the  Rio  del  Norte,  which  has  a  course,  including  its  windings,  of 
1,000  miles. 


^$} 


END   OF    VOLUME    1. 


-?' 


bis  coniu 
river, 
ly  sctllcd 
;onsidera- 
le  Sabine, 
33  furtiicr 
[)o  50'  N. 
rinity  is  a 
,  and  150 
ich  has  a 
iU'further 
es"  further 
ndings,  of 


